Saudi Arabia opens Umrah for vaccinated people from abroad

Lahore, 8th August: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to open Umrah pilgrimage for vaccinated people living abroad.

According to details from Dawn News, Saudi Arabia announced recently that it will allow vaccinated people from abroad to perform the Umrah pilgrimage from Monday.

The announcement made by the kingdom’s state news agency, SPA, comes after more than a year since the Kingdom refused to allow people from abroad to perform the pilgrimage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Arabia to Increase Number of Umrah Performers to Two Million Per Month from August 9https://t.co/oQYkrL5xCf#SPAGOV

— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) August 7, 2021

While maintaining COVID-19 precautionary measures, Makkah and Madinah will start welcoming visitors from abroad for Umrah with a capacity that would rise to 2 million from 60,000 pilgrims per month.

An official in the Hajj and Umrah Ministry informed that overseas pilgrims will jow have to include their COVID-19 vaccination certificates along with their Umrah requests.

The statement from the Ministry added that vaccinated pilgrims from countries that Saudi Arabia includes in its entry-ban list will have to be quarantined upon arrival at the state facilities.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom has also decided to allow entry to foreign travelers who are fully vaccinated with either Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines, provided that they also receive a booster shot of either of the four vaccines approved by the Kingdom.

One of the guidelines for travelers on the country’s e-visa portal says, “Guests who have completed two doses of the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines will be accepted if they have received an additional dose of one of the four vaccines approved in the Kingdom.”

The approved four vaccines are Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

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