Saudi Arabia opens up for vaccinated Umrah pilgrims

Saudi Arabia has finally decided to allow vaccinated foreign travellers to travel to Mecca for Umrah. The pilgrimage can be taken anytime of the year. Saudi Arabia had closed its borders almost 18 months ago as the Coronavirus pandemic took shape. Now, the kingdom has begun to accept travel requests from August 1 for Umrah.
Like most other countries, Saudi Arabia is also accepting fully vaccinated travellers. Currently, the Kingdom recognises the Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

However, it should be noted that quarantine cannot be ruled out as well. As per the Deputy Hajj Minister Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat, foreign visitors will also have to undergo quarantine if necessary. It has also been clearly mentioned that only those pilgrims who have been duly inoculated with the Coronavirus vaccine will be allowed to visit the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque) and Masjid al-Haram (The Great Mosque).
Last month, Saudi Arabia had permitted only 60000 vaccinated residents to go on the Hajj pilgrimage.

Saudi Arabia has also placed a ban on 10 countries for the holy Umrah pilgrimage. Pakistan is among the ten countries that are in this list.

While Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, Umrah is not an absolute necessity. However, it is an opportunity for devotees to come to Mecca any time of the year. Numerous devotees from all over the world reach Saudi Arabia each year to participate in Umrah.