Saudi Arabia suspended travel to nine countries for its citizens and residents amid coronavirus fears and suspended the entry of people from those countries or anyone who has been there in the past 14 days, the state news agency reported early on Monday, quoting a source in the Interior Ministry.
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The country recorded four more cases on Sunday, raising the total to 11 cases.
The nine countries are the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Egypt, Italy and Iraq.
The source said that all flights and naval trips between the Kingdom and the countries would also be suspended, not including evacuations and trade trips.
In addition, Saudi Arabia announced on Monday the suspension of schools, universities and educational institutions over coronavirus fears, until further notice.
The country's education minister, Hamad Al-Sheikh, has ordered that virtual schools should be set up as well as distance learning processes during the suspension.
Early Monday, the Saudi entertainment authority announced the closure of the Riyadh promenade and winter wonderland due to concerns about the new coronavirus, state TV reported.
The latest measures come after Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had imposed a temporary lockdown on the eastern Qatif province, an oil-producing region and home to a large Shiite Muslim population.
All the individuals who had been diagnosed with the disease in the kingdom have either been to Iran or interacted with people who visited the Islamic Republic, home to major Shi'ite holy sites.
The Saudi interior ministry said in a statement that no one would be allowed to enter or exit Qatif and that work at all public and private sectors in the province had been suspended with the exception of institutions providing necessary services.
The Saudis' Gulf neighbor Qatar has also temporarily barred travelers from 14 countries, effective Monday.
The Qatari ban covers China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand.
Qatar Airways had already suspended flights to and from Italy.
On Sunday, Qatar reported three more cases of the virus on Sunday, bringing the total there to 15.
Meanwhile, Egypt reported its first fatality from the coronavirus on Sunday, with the Health Ministry saying a 60-year-old German tourist, who had arrived in the country seven days ago and was hospitalized in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, had died.
The country has been rushing to protect its important tourism sector, reassuring people it is safe to travel there after an outbreak of the respiratory virus on a cruise ship on the Nile River.
Officials said on Saturday the coronavirus had been detected in 45 people on the cruise ship, including foreign tourists, after the vessel reached the southern city of Luxor. Before that, Egypt had reported only three confirmed cases of the virus.
Late on Sunday, the Health Ministry said in a statement that Egypt registered seven new cases - four foreigners and three Egyptians - bringing the total number of confirmed case to 55.
