MECCA, Aug 11 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia resumed allowing travellers from abroad to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the kingdom announced this week, a new easing of the restrictions imposed last year, to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at Islamic holy sites.
Aspiring pilgrims can now apply to perform the lesser pilgrimage, known as umrah, as long as they can provide proof that they have received a vaccine approved by the Saudi authorities. The new policy took effect on Monday.
The kingdom approved the vaccines made by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. Foreigners who have received two doses of either the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines can enter, only if they have also received a third shot of one of the four approved vaccines.
As the pandemic spread last year, Saudi Arabia barred travellers from abroad from the main pilgrimage, the hajj, which attracts millions of pilgrims in normal years, spreading disappointment across the Muslim world. Devout Muslims who are physically and financially able are required to perform the hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once during their livetimes.
Last year, only up to 60,000 pilgrims, who were already in the kingdom, were allowed. Foreign travellers were also barred from this year’s hajj, which was in July.
Umrah can be performed at any time of the year. Allowing vaccinated foreign travellers to apply for it, represents a step towards restoring the prepandemic status quo at the holy sites.
The number of permitted foreign visitors will initially be limited and will increase over time, with the goal of eventually allowing two million pilgrims a month.
Other restrictions, including limiting the number of worshippers in mosques and on buses, will also be enforced, to decrease the chances of infection. As of Monday, Saudi Arabia averaged 732 new cases a day over the last week, a 40 percent decline from two weeks ago, according to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering, at Johns Hopkins University.
