Saudi Arabia suspends visas to pilgrims from Congo over Ebola virus

Saudi Arabia has stopped issuing visas to people from Congo, citing an outbreak of Ebola in the Central African country, despite the World Health Organisation recommending against travel restrictions.

Some Muslims in Congo had planned to take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia next month.

A letter from the Saudi foreign ministry to Congo's embassy in Riyadh, obtained by The Associated Press and dated Wednesday, said the kingdom made the decision to protect pilgrims and others from the virus.

The decision affects anyone coming from Congo, including non-citizens.

The Saudi letter refers to the WHO decision this month to declare the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo a global health emergency - a rare designation used only for the most serious epidemics.

More than 1,700 people have died in the year-long outbreak.

Saudi Arabia also suspended visas during West Africa's Ebola outbreak a few years ago.

At its peak in 2014, Ebola sparked anxiety about a possible global pandemic and led some governments to threaten or unilaterally enforce travel bans to and from the worst-affected countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

In other news, 200 relatives and survivors from the Christchurch mosque shootings are travelling to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia as guests of King Salman. 

The king is paying for all travel and accommodation costs, a bill likely to run to over $1 million.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all able-bodied Muslims are required to perform it once in their lifetime.

During the five-day pilgrimage, millions of Muslims circle Islam's most sacred site, the cube-shaped Kaaba, and take part in rituals intended to bring about greater humility and unity.

Agencies contributed to this report.