Saudi Arabia allows citizens of other countries to perform Umrah on Sunday, November 1, 2020. Saudi Arabia closed Umrah for about seven months due to the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic.

The opening of Umrah for foreigners is part of the gradual easing carried out by the Saudis in reducing the spread of Covid-19.

In the latest restriction regulations, a total of 80,000 pilgrims are allowed to worship at the Grand Mosque, Makkah, and every day. Reporting from the Anadolu Agency website, the Saudis have not provided details regarding citizens from which countries are allowed to do Umrah..

On October 4, the Saudi authorities allowed local residents and foreigners who were already in the country to pray at the Masjidil Haram in a capacity of 30 percent or 6,000 people per day.

On October 18, the Saudis allowed 15 thousand pilgrims per day to perform Umrah and pray at the Nabawi Mosque in Medina.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's pilgrim will be limited to those already in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, foreign pilgrims are not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) news agency reported that the barricades around the Ka'bah and the Black Stone would remain. Umrah pilgrims are prohibited from holding or even simply approaching the Ka'bah, which is part of the covid-19 restriction policy.

The Masjidil Haram or Grand Mosque, where the Ka'ba stands, will be sprayed with disinfectant 10 times a day. Saudi authorities have prepared a quarantine room to anticipate Umrah pilgrims showing symptoms of Covid-19.

So far Saudi Arabia has recorded a total of 347,282 cases of COVID-19 with 5,402 deaths since the first infection was detected in the country in March.

Source : https://www.kompas.com/tren/read/2020/09/23/142500465/umrah-segera-dibuka-dalam-4-tahap-berikut-ini-jadwal-lengkapnya?page=all