Saudi Arabia Allows Only COVID-19 Immune Individuals to Perform Pilgrimage in Mecca

On July 29 last year, Islamic pilgrims maintained social distancing while circling the Kaaba shrine at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Saudi Arabia plans to allow only those who have developed immunity to COVID-19 to perform the pilgrimage. This includes recovered patients, those who have completed the second dose of the vaccine, and those who have passed 14 days since their first dose.

According to AFP on the 5th (local time), the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in a statement that "from the end of this month during Ramadan, only Muslims who have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 and have immunity will be allowed to perform Umrah (the year-round pilgrimage)." Umrah sees the highest number of visitors during Ramadan.

Accordingly, prayer gatherings held at the two holiest Islamic sites, the Grand Mosques in Mecca and Medina, will be open only to those immune to COVID-19 starting from the 13th. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah stated, "We do not know how long this regulation will be in effect."

The Saudi government banned Umrah in March last year due to the COVID-19 outbreak but resumed it in October. However, they imposed limits on the number of participants and significantly reduced the scale of Hajj (the regular pilgrimage).

According to the international statistics site Worldometer, Saudi Arabia reported 695 new confirmed cases as of this date. The cumulative confirmed cases stand at 393,377, with 6,704 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.