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Saudi Arabia to Permit Entry of Foreign Pilgrims For Umrah Starting from Sunday

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will permit foreign pilgrims, between the age of 18 and 50, to enter the nation to perform ‘Umrah’ (the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) beginning from Sunday onwards, the media revealed.

This move indicates the third period of the gradual relaxation of Umrah services, states Gulf News.

As per the precautionary steps and preventive rules announced by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, foreign pilgrims will be needed to stay in isolation for three days upon their arrival in the wake of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Maddah announced the Saudi Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Weqaya) is observing the COVID-19 infection pandemic situation in each nation to help advise the relevant officials prior to Umrah arrivals.

The official conveyed these details at a virtual workshop on Monday.

He stated the Eatmarna application has been downloaded about 3 million times and more than 1.4 million individuals have applied for permits, with more than 1 million being given for Umrah and prayers in the Grand Mosque.

Al-Maddah stated in case of an increase in infections, officials may curb the number of pilgrims anytime.

He said full medial insurance is compulsory to guarantee satisfactory health care for pilgrims in the event of COVID-19 infection or some other medical problems.

Al-Maddah said Weqaya will decide which nations can send pilgrims depending upon the number of infections. He reiterated that Umrah organizations will be given regular updates.

Under these guidelines, pilgrims must have a PCR medical test certificate demonstrating that they are COVID-19 negative, given not over 72 hours from the hour of taking sample until the hour of departure to the Kingdom, the Saudi Okaz paper declared in a report.

The most recent development comes after Mecca’s Grand Mosque on October 4 re-opened its ways to the first group of pilgrims performing Umrah following a half year of COVID-19 limitations.

As a part of its measures to battle the pandemic, Saudi Arabia had suspended the Umrah pilgrimage and prayers in mosques in mid-March, says Arab News.

The Kingdom likewise suspended international flights and introduced a lockdown.

As of Sunday, Saudi Arabia has registered an aggregate of 335,997 COVID-19 cases and 4,850 deaths.

 

 

source: with input from ians