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Saudi Arabia will allow the Muslim minor pilgrimage, the umrah, to gradually resume starting in October, around seven months after it was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On October 4, Saudis and foreign residents in the kingdom will be able to perform the umrah, an Interior Ministry source said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency.
Only 6,000 pilgrims per day will be allowed to perform the umrah at the Grand Mosque in Mecca while ensuring social distancing measures are followed.
On October 18, the kingdom will allow 15,000 pilgrims to perform the umrah. Prayers at the Prophet's Mosque in the city of Medina will also resume then.
Muslims abroad will be allowed to start heading to the kingdom for the pilgrimage from November 1, when 20,000 pilgrims per day will be allowed.
According to official statistics, more than 19 million pilgrims performed the umrah in 2019.


Starting November, 60,000 worshippers in total will be allowed to pray at the two mosques per day.
This remains below the usual capacity of the mosques. The reduced capacity will remain in place until authorities decide that the dangers of the pandemic have passed, the statement added.
In March, Saudi Arabia halted the umrah, which can be undertaken at any time during the year, as part of measures it imposed amid the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Indonesians stranded after Saudi Arabia suspends umrah pilgrimage
Pilgrims will be asked to wear a face mask and maintain a physical distance from one other.
The Ministry of haj and umrah is developing a mobile application that will be available one week before the umrah resumes, so that pilgrims can register and book on it. They will also need to follow the guidelines provided there.


In July, the kingdom allowed limited number of residents to perform the annual main haj pilgrimage.
Last week, Saudi Arabia partially lifted a halt on international flights, allowing travel of certain categories of Saudis and foreigners.
These categories included Saudi civil servants and military tasked with official assignments abroad, businesspeople, patients who need medical treatment abroad and foreigners who hold valid visas for work, residency and to visit.
Saudi Arabia orders duo arrested for drinking disinfectant to ward off coronavirus
The official said all restrictions imposed on Saudis' departure and return to the homeland would be completely lifted as of January 1.
In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has reported a significant drop in virus infection rates.
The country has reported so far over 330,000 cases and 4,542 related deaths.


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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia to lift ban on ‘umrah’ pilgrimage to Mecca

The umrah usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year. File photo: AFP

Indonesians stranded after Saudi Arabia suspends umrah pilgrimage over coronavirus fears

Pilgrims seen in masks at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on February 28, 2020. Photo: AFP

Sanitation workers clean the area outside the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque complex in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on February 27, 2020. - Saudi Arabia on February 27 suspended visas for visits to Islam's holiest sites for the "umrah" pilgrimage, an unprecedented move triggered by coronavirus fears that raises questions over the annual hajj. The kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year in the cities of Mecca and Medina, also suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the virus as fears of a pandemic deepen. (Photo by Haitham EL-TABEI / AFP)

Muslim pilgrims wear masks at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on February 28, 2020. - Saudi Arabia suspended visas for visits to Islam's holiest sites for the "umrah" pilgrimage, an unprecedented move triggered by coronavirus fears that raises questions over the annual hajj. The kingdom, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year in the cities of Mecca and Medina, also suspended visas for tourists from countries with reported infections as fears of a pandemic deepen. (Photo by Abdel Ghani BASHIR / AFP)

Saudi Arabia orders duo arrested for drinking disinfectant to ward off coronavirus

Disinfectant is in great demand because of the coronavirus outbreak, but is not meant for consumption. Photo: EPA-EFE

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The year-round umrah pilgrimage was suspended seven months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic
Saudi Arabia will allow visitors from outside the kingdom to perform umrah from November 1



Decision comes seven months after the Muslim minor pilgrimage was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Saudi Arabia

Religion

Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia to lift ban on ‘umrah’ pilgrimage to Mecca

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The year-round umrah pilgrimage was suspended seven months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic Saudi Arabia will allow visitors from outside the kingdom to perform umrah from November 1

The year-round umrah pilgrimage was suspended seven months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic

Saudi Arabia will allow visitors from outside the kingdom to perform umrah from November 1