Africa’s public health agency has asked Saudi Arabia to reconsider Ebola-related travel restrictions affecting journeys from Kenya. In a statement issued in Addis Ababa on 3 November, Africa CDC supported Kenya’s request for an urgent review and for the measures to be lifted. The agency’s statement announced its position. It did not announce a change in Saudi entry rules.
Saudi Arabia had set out the measures on 30 October. The Saudi Press Agency said the kingdom was suspending travel by its citizens to Kenya, halting visa issuance for people arriving from Kenya and barring entry to travellers arriving directly from the country. The notice also addressed people reaching Saudi Arabia through another country.
For that last group, the Saudi announcement referred to a stay in Kenya, or in another country with an active Ebola outbreak, in the 21 days before arrival in the kingdom. A Nigerian traveller who has spent time in Kenya and is considering a journey to Saudi Arabia therefore needs to check more than the departure airport printed on the final ticket.
Kenya’s health ministry said on 3 November that it had recorded no new cases since 19 October and had found no evidence of community transmission. It also described continuing surveillance and contact tracing. These were dated observations from the ministry, not a declaration that the outbreak had ended or a finding about the health of individual passengers.
Africa CDC argued that broad restrictions could separate families, disrupt livelihoods and discourage countries from reporting future outbreaks promptly. It called for measures proportionate to the assessed risk. Saudi Arabia’s announcement described its own action as precautionary, following an assessment by its health authorities. The two statements address the same journeys from different institutional positions.
What it means for you. Before committing to a booking, give the airline and Saudi consular authorities the dates of recent stays and your complete route, including connections. Ask how the current instructions apply to that itinerary. An appeal for a review is not the document that authorises boarding or entry.