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| New Hajj and Umrah Conditions for Travel to Saudi Arabia 2021. |
Saudi Arabia is ready for Hajj 2021. Due to the pandemic, several tough measures are being put in place to contain the spread of the infection during the annual Islamic pilgrimage. Hajj and the Umrah Ministry said Hajj will continue in full capacity this year Safety Measures in place. Standard rules will be established to protect the health and well-being of pilgrims. The Hajj pilgrimage is under the jurisdiction of Saudi Arabia, complete doses of the Saudi government-approved Covid vaccine are mandatory for everyone. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson are the only vaccines that are considered valid here.
This year Saudi authority has decided to only allow 60,000 pilgrims, but they did not allow the vaccines made in India and China.
Pakistan has requested the Saudi government authorities at the highest level to add the Chinese-made covid vaccines i.e Sinopharm and Sinovac to the validation list for traveling because most Pakistanis receive the first dose of Chinese injection. In the meantime, Malaysia has started the vaccination campaign for the Hajj pilgrims separately. In Malaysia, the media reported that those selected for this year's Hajj will receive the Saudi Arabia-approved Pfizer-BioTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. Saudi Arabia for the Hajj Pilgrimage:
1. People under the age of 18 and over 60 are not eligible for Hajj or Umrah. All Pilgrims are given instructions by the Saudi authorities that they must have received the Saudi-approved vaccinations.
2. The pilgrimage must be carried out in Saudi Arabia-approved laboratories 40 hours before dispatch to the pilgrimage site. This is another condition announced by Riyadh.
3. The pilgrimage to Hajj must be carried out according to strict protocols and health guidelines. The pilgrim must have no medical history or illness. Hospital stays 6 months ago.
Last year, Saudi Arabia admitted very few pilgrims to Hajj. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for hated Muslims at least once in their life. Last year only about 10,000 Saudi Arabians were admitted; In contrast, 2.5 million Muslims around the world had made the Hajj pilgrimage in 2019.