COVID-19: Foreign pilgrims perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia after quarantine

Cairo: The first groups of foreign pilgrims are set to perform the Umrah today after spending a mandatory three-days in isolation as part of required precautions against the spread of the coronavirus.

On Sunday, foreign Muslims started arriving in Saudi Arabia and went into quarantine in hotels in the holy city of Mecca. They came from Pakistan and Indonesia.

The pilgrims will perform the Umrah rituals in groups, each made up of 20, according to Okaz newspaper. Around 32 groups are due to carry out the Umrah at one time inside the Grand mosque.

As many as 20,000 Umrah pilgrims and 60,000 worshipers per day are allowed to perform prayers at the mosque, according to the third phase of a gradual plan for resuming the minor pilgrimage

On October 4, Saudi Arabia set into motion the first phase of the plan, allowing 6,000 Umrah pilgrims from inside the kingdom per day.

The second went into effect on October 18, allowing about 40,000 worshippers and 10,000 pilgrims a day into the Grand Mosque.

Eligible pilgrims

The third stage for foreign pilgrims is being implemented amid strict health measures including limiting the ritual to Muslims aged between 18 to 50 years.

The eligible pilgrims are required to show a test result conducted 72 hours at most before arrival in the kingdom proving they are free of COVID-19. Muslims, coming from abroad to the kingdom to perform the Umrah, are allowed a 10-day stay, including three days of self-isolation.

Pilgrims and visitors from within the kingdom and abroad will be allowed to perform Umrah and prayers at the Two Holy Mosques at full capacity in the fourth and final phase of the gradual resumption of the services that were suspended following the outbreak of coronavirus nearly eight months ago.