Saudi Arabia has decided to open the Umrah pilgrimage for vaccinated persons from abroad from Monday, after more than a year passed since the kingdom refused to allow people from abroad to perform the pilgrimage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The kingdom’s state news agency, SPA, confirmed the development.
With a capacity that would rise to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month, Makkah and Madinah will start welcoming visitors from abroad to their mosques while maintaining COVID-19 precautionary measures.
An official in the Hajj and Umrah Ministry said domestic and overseas pilgrims will have to include authorized COVID-19 vaccination certificates along with their Umrah request.
Vaccinated pilgrims from countries that Saudi Arabia includes on its entry-ban list will have to be institutionally quarantined upon arrival, the report added.