Saudi Arabia has reportedly banned citizens of 33 Muslim countries from travelling to the country to perform the Umrah Hajj pilgrimage amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Russia Today Arabic-language has cited Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) as saying that Saudi Arabia will not allow pilgrims from 33 Muslim countries to travel to the Kingdom to practice Umrah Hajj.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s al-Misrawy website has also reported that the countries whose pilgrims are not allowed to go to Saudi Arabia for Umrah this year include Egypt, the US, France, Italy, Iran, South Africa, the UK, Sweden, Pakistan, Brazil, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Portugal, Argentina, Germany, Turkey, India and Lebanon.
Last October, Saudi Arabia resumed Umrah Hajj after a seven-month halt due to coronavirus pandemic and allowed in about 20,000 Umrah pilgrims per day or 600,000 a month.