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Virus Forces Unprecedented Saudi Curbs on Holy Pilgrimage

Saudi Arabia to Suspend Umrah Pilgrimage for Citizens, Residents

(Bloomberg) --

Saudi Arabia took the unprecedented step of suspending the Umrah religious pilgrimage for its citizens and residents, saying it wanted to prevent the coronavirus from spreading through the “intense flow” of crowds to holy sites.

The kingdom, which has one confirmed case but sits in a region where thousands have been infected, hosts Islam’s holiest sites. The measures ordered on Wednesday concern the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and visits to a site in Medina. They expand on restrictions applied last week to foreign Muslims coming from abroad making the same religious trips and to incoming tourists.

It’s the first time Saudi Arabia has suspended Umrah completely, according to Abdulaziz Wazzan, a deputy minister at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

Umrah is a non-compulsory ritual. Saudi Arabia hasn’t put restrictions in place for the obligatory and better-known Hajj pilgrimage, which doesn’t begin this year until the end of July and draws millions of Muslims.

“This preventive decision is among precautionary measures that the Kingdom’s government has consistently taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic and prevent its access to the Two Holy Mosques, which are witnessing a permanent and intense flow of human crowds,” state-run news agency SPA said on Wednesday, citing an official at the Interior Ministry.

Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, is home to Islam’s holiest site inside the Grand Mosque. Many Mecca residents pray there daily. Medina is where Islam’s founder is buried. The Umrah pilgrimage alone brought almost 7 million visitors from October 2018 to May 2019, according to government data.

Iran, which has 2,922 coronavirus cases and 92 deaths from the virus, has banned one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines from holding religious ceremonies and canceled Friday prayers at all provincial capitals. It’s the country worst hit by the disease after China.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sylvia Westall in Dubai at swestall@bloomberg.net;Vivian Nereim in Riyadh at vnereim@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul Abelsky

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.