Saudi Arabia Allows Vaccinated Foreign Pilgrims To Perform Umrah

Saudi Arabia has announced that it will allow vaccinated foreign pilgrims to perform Umrah after a year and a half.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that from August 9, applications for Umrah will be gradually received from different countries of the world.

It should be noted that after the global outbreak of the coronavirus, Saudi Arabia had closed its borders to those coming from abroad for Umrah. However, now only those who have been vaccinated will be able to apply for Umrah.

Saudi Arabia has also allowed visitors with Chinese-made vaccines to enter the country. However, they are required to take a booster dose of one of the Saudi government-approved vaccines, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia has not yet approved the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm and Sinovac.

Visitors vaccinated in the nine countries where the Saudi government has banned entry, including Pakistan, will have to be quarantined in Saudi Arabia.

It may be recalled that last month, the website providing news related to Hajj and Umrah and Masjid-e-Haram and Masjid-e-Nabawi had stated that these nine countries include Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Lebanon.

According to the report, the number of visitors will be kept at 60,000 initially, which will be increased to 2 million later per month. In addition, measures to prevent coronavirus will be ensured for foreign visitors to the holy sites in Mecca and Medina.

According to the Saudi Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr Abdul Fattah bin Sulaiman Mushat, visitors from abroad will be required to attach a valid Code of Vaccination Certificate 19 with their Umrah application.

Remember that before the outbreak of the coronavirus, millions of Muslims from all over the world visited Saudi Arabia every month to perform Umrah. However, due to the global pandemic, Saudi Arabia banned Umrah.

Saudi Arabia allowed local pilgrims to perform Umrah in October last year, after which the Hajj was limited for the second time this year.