Madinah: Over one lakh pilgrims from all over the world have arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend the annual Haj pilgrimage.
Post-Covid, more than one million people will perform Hajj this year. Ten percent has already arrived in Saudi Arabia.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Madinah is working hard to provide Haj pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque with a package of services. It carried out 189 investigation tours to assess the standard and quality of the housing of pilgrims and dealt with 285 cases of housing displacement and 37 cases of leaving the accommodation while the number of lost pilgrims who were guided to their housing reached 121 pilgrims.
This year, the average duration for completing processes for a pilgrim outside the airport lounge was 29 minutes, compared to 36 minutes during the 1440 Haj (2019).
The average duration for completing the processes for a pilgrim inside and outside the lounge for this year’s Haj is 102 minutes. According to the survey, the average time for completing processes on a pilgrimage trip under the Makkah Road Initiative was 55 minutes, compared to 60 minutes for Haj 1440.
Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has announced that people who are planning to perform Haj this year need to be fully immunized with one of the approved COVID-19 vaccination.
The ministry restated that all those intending to perform Haj this year must complete their immunization program, with one of the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Public Health Authority.
The vaccine requirement is fed on the electric registration portal for this year’s Haj, which will assist one million pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia has already lifted all COVID-19 precautionary measures. People no longer have to wear a face mask indoors, except in Makkah’s Grand Mosque and Madinah’s Prophet’s Mosque.
The Tawakkalna app is no longer needed to enter events, activities, airplanes, and public transport to show proof of vaccination.
However, the manager of any activity, event or public transport provider wishing to apply higher levels of protection can be excused from the decision.
The ministry stressed that priority is given to those who have not previously performed rituals. The ministry also added that those not fully vaccinated as per Tawakkalna application would be denied a Haj permit.
