The front page of the Saudi Gazette for October 31, 2026, shared on X on October 30, leads with the kingdom’s suspension of travel to Kenya over Ebola. Photo: Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) via X [file photo]
Kenya called Saudi Arabia’s Ebola travel ban and visa halt for Kenyans excessive and not backed by scientific evidence on Saturday, and asked the kingdom to review and lift it.
The Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday that the kingdom had suspended its citizens’ travel to Kenya, stopped issuing all visas to travelers from Kenya and barred their entry because of the Ebola outbreak.
The ban also covers people who arrive in the kingdom through third countries if they stayed in Kenya, or in any other country with an Ebola outbreak, during the 21 days before their arrival, the agency said. The measures were taken after the national health authorities assessed the epidemic, and they apply to visas of all types, according to the statement.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Health Authority, known as Weqaya, said the health situation inside the kingdom “remains reassuring” and is under close and continuous monitoring. It said it would take further steps if the outbreak changes. The authority said the new restrictions build on preventive measures that the kingdom has applied since July 2019 and strengthened in May 2026 for arrivals from countries facing Ebola risks.
In June 2026, Saudi Arabia suspended travel to and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan, and it has tightened screening at airports and other entry points for travelers coming from countries near the outbreak areas, the Saudi Press Agency said.
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on October 6, after a Kenyan citizen who had travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo died in Nairobi, Khaleej Times reported. Kenya’s Ministry of Health said on Saturday that two patients, including the first case, had died and seven were still under care. Five of them have tested negative once and await a second test on Monday, November 2. If they pass, they could go home on Tuesday together with 46 more contacts who have shown no symptoms in quarantine, adding to 20 contacts already released, the ministry said. The outbreak in eastern Congo, caused by the Bundibugyo strain, has passed 10,000 confirmed cases, according to Congolese government figures.
Saudi Arabia is one of the main destinations for Kenyan migrant workers, and many Kenyan Muslims travel there for Umrah. The news account Sahifa Media wrote on X that the move “affects Umrah travels to the sacred sites.” The kingdom’s statement did not say how long the measures would last, or whether Kenyans already holding visas would be allowed to enter.
News of the ban spread quickly in Arabic on X. The Saudi news account @AJELNEWS24 summarized the measures for its followers on Friday afternoon, and the account @SaudiNews50 shared the official statement in a post viewed more than 600,000 times. A summary listing the four measures, posted by @MakkahUpdate, was widely reshared by Kenyan users.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said in a statement on Saturday that his ministry “has noted with concern the extreme measures” taken by Saudi Arabia, which he said were “not only excessive but not backed by the current epidemiological situation in the country,” Nairobi Leo reported. He said all eight infections confirmed after the imported first case were linked to it, four health workers and four close relatives, that Kenya had recorded no new case since October 19, and that there was “NO evidence of community transmission.” “What we require from the international community is support and collaboration, not condemnation, not travel restrictions and certainly not isolation,” Duale said, according to The Standard.
In a diplomatic note dated October 30, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs said the measures were “disproportionate and not supported by scientific health evidence” and would “hurt Kenyan pilgrims, workers in the Kingdom, students, trade and tourism,” The Standard reported. The ministry asked Saudi Arabia to notify the World Health Organization of its reasons within 48 hours, as the International Health Regulations require, and to review the restrictions within three months. It said it would work with other affected African countries to raise the matter with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kenyan outlets including The Standard, KTN News and Radio 47 led with the protest on X on Saturday morning. Mereja Media found no public Saudi reply to Kenya’s objections by Saturday afternoon.
Weqaya said it would continue to follow the epidemic regionally and internationally and “take the necessary preventive measures” as the situation develops, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Sources
- The Standard (Kenya), October 31, 2026
- The Standard (Kenya), foreign ministry note
- Nairobi Leo
- The Standard on X
- Sahifa Media on X
- Saudi Press Agency (English), October 30, 2026
- Saudi Press Agency (Arabic)
- Saudi Gazette
- Khaleej Times
- Anadolu Agency
- @AJELNEWS24 on X
- @SaudiNews50 on X
- Saudi Gazette on X