MAKKAH: Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Umrah pilgrims who would be traveling to the Kingdom from foreign countries.
According to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj, those coming for Umrah will first have to visit the care center in Mecca six hours before performing the Umrah where they will get the status of their coronavirus vaccination checked.
Visitors to the care center will be given a bracelet after clearance, which they will have to wear at all times, the ministry said. Afterward, visitors will be instructed to go to the Al-Shubaikha gathering centre where they will show their bracelet and verify their data and permit. The Saudi Ministry of Hajj has urged pilgrims to adhere to the date and time of their Umrah.
Earlier, Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had said that only people vaccinated against coronavirus will be permitted to perform the year-round Umrah pilgrimage, starting from Ramazan.
According to the Haj and Umrah ministry, only immunized people will be granted authorization to perform Umrah as well as prayers in the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
The ministry clarified that any person who wishes to visit the two holy mosques for the purpose of Umrah or offering prayers must have received both the shots of the vaccine, otherwise, they will not be allowed to enter the mosques.
Even after being inoculated, all those praying in the mosques will still have to follow the Kingdom’s coronavirus protocols, the ministry added.
Visitors and pilgrims will be able to choose the date and time of their visit to the mosques contingent upon strict adherence to the coronavirus protocols, the ministry said.
#BREAKING: #SaudiArabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will grant Umrah and visit permits to the Two Holy Mosques to vaccinated people only starting from Ramadan pic.twitter.com/JXDH2xx4wl
— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) April 5, 2021
