Saudi Arabia starts receiving Umrah requests from foreigners

Starting from Monday, Saudi Arabia will begin receiving requests to perform Umrah -- an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca -- from foreign worshippers, the government announced.

For concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic, only the vaccinated and the recovered will be provided with permissions, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry of Haj and Umrah as saying in the announcement.

The Deputy Minister of Haj and Umrah, Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat said the authorities determine the countries from which Umrah performers come, and their numbers on a periodic basis according to the classification of preventive measures.

He called upon the performers to adhere to organisational plans and health procedures set by the Ministry.

On November 1, 2020, Saudi Arabia received foreign pilgrims under tight precautionary measures to perform Umrah for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic early last year.