Saudi Arabia reportedly halts Kenya travel and entry over Ebola concerns

Saudi Arabia has suspended its citizens’ travel to Kenya and stopped issuing visas to travelers from the country, barring their entry over Ebola concerns, Saudi Gazette and Middle East Monitor reported on 30 October. Middle East Monitor attributed the announcement to the Saudi Press Agency.

The restrictions also apply to people traveling via another country if they spent time in Kenya or another Ebola-affected country within the preceding 21 days, the reports said. The exact effective date and implementation arrangements were not independently confirmed.

The reported measures differ from World Health Organization advice. WHO recommends against restricting travel or trade with affected countries on the basis of its outbreak assessment. CDC, meanwhile, places Kenya at its lowest travel-advice level, Level 1, recommending usual precautions.

CDC recorded nine cases and two deaths in Kenya as of 23 October. All cases were in Nairobi, it said, citing Kenya’s Ministry of Health as reporting no community spread. WHO’s earlier count, dated 20 October, recorded nine cases and one death.

Kenya reported its first case on 6 October after a man traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo through Uganda to Nairobi. WHO linked the subsequent eight infections to that imported case, placing all nine cases in a single cluster.

The secondary infections involved four relatives and four workers in health and care services, according to WHO. Each developed symptoms while already in quarantine. By 20 October, all 135 identified contacts in Kenya had been located and quarantined, the organization said.

WHO identifies Bundibugyo virus as the cause of the outbreak. It says symptoms can develop between two and 21 days after infection, and people do not become infectious before symptoms appear.

Saudi Gazette and Middle East Monitor said the restrictions followed a review by health authorities. They also attributed to the Saudi Public Health Authority, Weqaya, assurances that conditions inside Saudi Arabia remained stable and were being monitored continuously.

The two publications reported that Saudi Arabia had already suspended travel to, and arrivals from, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and South Sudan in June 2026. WHO recorded 9,704 confirmed infections and 4,687 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by 20 October.