Vaccine is Compulsory for Umrah in Ramadan 2021
Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to the holy places in Makkah and Madina. You can perform Umrah any time of the year while taking care of the preventive measurements against COVID 19. However, Umrah in Ramadan 2021 will be a bit different from earlier years because of Covid 19 SOPs for Ramadan and general restrictions
Saudi Arabia closed its borders (Land, Sea, Air) on 18 November 20.
After the opening of the borders, only a limited group of pilgrims, tourists, and worshippers was allowed to enter KSA. They can perform UMRAH by booking a slot through the government-issued application “Eatmarna” in November 2020. You can follow our Guide on how to perform Umrah using Eatmarna
Here is who is going to from outside of Kingdom?
On 28-03-2021, Saudi Arabia banned pilgrims, tourists, and worshiper’s entry from more than twenty countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United States, Britain, South Africa, France, Egypt, Lebanon, India, and Pakistan. However, the people from the rest of the countries can perform UMRAH during the RAMADAN in KSA.
Vaccine is Compulsory for Umrah Pilgrims and workers of Hajj and Umrah Ministry
On 06-04-2021, the Hajj and Umrah ministry made it mandatory for UMRAH pilgrimage (during RAMADAN), and Hajj pilgrimage vaccinated before visiting Saudi Arabia. The vaccine is compulsory if you want to perform Umrah in Ramadan 2021 or Perform Hajj later on. However, they have to fall into these three categories.
Three Categories for Umrah Piligrims:
Here are the three categories of people who can perform Umrah in Ramadan 2021.
(1)- Those who have received Two dosages of COVID-19 Vaccine
(2)- Those who have received a single dose of Vaccine at least two weeks before performing UMRAH and have a negative PCR report.
(3)- Those who have once recovered from COVID-19.
Ministry of HAJJ and UMRAH said that this policy also applies to visit Grand Mosque in Mecca and Prophet Mosque in Madinah. Only those people will be able to get the permit to visit holy places that fall in any of these three categories.
Vaccine for the Workers under Hajj and Umrah ministry:
According to the health and Hajj and Umrah Ministries of KSA, “Vaccine is not an ideal solution to avoid this pandemic. However, those working under the HAJJ and UMRAH sectors will have to take a Vaccine before 12 April (1st RAMADAN).
Relevant authorities of Health ministries are going to inspect the holy places during the month of RAMADAN. They are going to make sure people are following the strict SOPS of HAJJ and UMRAH ministry.
Current Capacity of Grand Mosque in Makkah
The worshippers’ capacity in the Grand Mosque in Mecca is also increased as the ministry moved to “immunized” UMRAH policy on 06-04-2021. According to the recent news, around 50000 vaccinated UMRAH pilgrimage and 100,000 local worshippers will now daily get GRAND mosque visit e-permit through the government issued apps (Tawakkalna and Eatmarna).
On the safe side, some strict sop’s are in place to ensure a worshipper’s safety. These preventive measurements and strict sops will help to regulate the UMRAH in the holy month of RAMADAN.