Saudi Arabia resumes Umrah, 6000 pilgrims allowed per day

After a seven-month pause due to coronavirus outbreak, Saudi Arabia resumed the Umrah pilgrimage on Sunday. The scaled-back services will be revived in three stages with extensive health precautions. In the first stage, 6000 pilgrims residing inside the country will be allowed to undertake the pilgrimage, AFP reported.

“In the first stage, the umrah will be performed meticulously and within a specified period of time,” Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten said. The pilgrims will be divided into groups to ensure social distancing within the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

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On October 18, the number of pilgrims will be increased to 15,000 per day, with a maximum of 40,000 people allowed to perform prayers at the mosque. In the third phase, pilgrims from abroad would be allowed.

The entry of pilgrims, worshippers and visitors will be regulated through an online application called “I’tamarna.” The decision to resume the pilgrimage was in response to the “aspirations of Muslims home and abroad” to perform the ritual and visit the holy sites, the interior ministry, adding, “Muslims should not stop performing pilgrimage while respecting the precautionary measures.”

The Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina is undertaken any time of the year, attracting 19 million people on an average, every year. Saudi Arabia had instituted a freeze on umrah in March.