Makkah News and Updates

Saudi Arabia suspends entry
for Umrah pilgrimage
over coronavirus fears

February 27, 2020

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has placed a temporary ban on Umrah pilgrims in an attempt to ensure public safety by preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Most foreign pilgrims often visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah before or after the completion of their religious duties in Makkah, this has also been halted.

It is one of a number of precautionary restrictions announced early on Thursday as health authorities in the Kingdom closely monitor the spread of the virus. Tourist-visa holders from countries judged to pose a particularly high risk of spreading the virus will also be denied entry.

In addition, Saudi nationals and citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council nations will not be able to use a national identity card to travel to and from the Kingdom for the time being. Exceptions to this shall be granted to Saudis returning home, and citizens of GCC countries who are in the Kingdom and want to return to their home countries, provided that they left or entered the Kingdom using a national identity card.

Health authorities at entry points will verify which countries travelers visited before arriving in Saudi Arabia and apply all necessary precautionary measures.

Saudi officials stressed that the restrictions are temporary and will be continuously reviewed by the health authorities. They reiterated the Kingdom’s support for and implementation of international efforts to limit the spread of the virus, and the Foreign Ministry urged citizens not to travel to the countries worst affected by the coronavirus.

Nearly 7 million Umrah pilgrims visit the Kingdom each year, the majority of whom arrive at airports in Jeddah and Madinah.

Earlier, it emerged that seven Saudis are among the latest coronavirus cases in Bahrain and Kuwait. The Bahraini Ministry of Health on Wednesday said six Saudi women has tested positive for the virus.

They had arrived at Bahrain International Airport on a flight from Iran. The total number of confirmed cases in the country stands at 26. Studies at schools and universities have been suspended for two weeks in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

Kuwait announced the first case of a Saudi citizen infected by the virus. The man, who had arrived in the country from the Iranian city of Mashhad, has been placed in quarantine for 14 days. There have been 26 confirmed cases of the virus to date in Kuwait.

The Saudi Ministry of Health has been providing neighboring Arab countries with advice and guidelines for controlling infectious diseases such as the coronavirus and dealing with health emergencies.

Dr. Hani bin Abdul Aziz Jokhdar, the deputy minister of public health, said that the guidelines were based on Saudi Arabia’s experience of protecting the health and well-being of pilgrims during Hajj season.

He led the Kingdom’s delegation at a meeting of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers for Health on Wednesday at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1633826/saudi-arabia

Two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia
ready to confront health epidemics

February 28, 2020

MAKKAH: The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has announced its readiness to deal with any epidemic cases. It said that it will provide all necessary information to pilgrims and has doubled cleaning times of the courtyards and corridors of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

The presidency said that it is raising media awareness in all languages and through informative screens to distribute the latest medical instructions and emergency developments.

Abdulhamid Al-Maliki, assistant undersecretary for services affairs at the presidency, told Arab News that the Two Holy Mosques are collaborating with public health authorities to face all possible situations.

Al-Maliki said that he has been working hand-in-hand with governmental and private agencies to distribute masks and hand sanitizer.

He added that coordination has been made with public health-related bodies to mobilize the necessary media coverage to inform all pilgrims of different nationalities wherever they may be.

The assistant undersecretary said that responding to all instructions and advice is necessary for the best handling of health issues.

Crowd expert Akram Jan said that Saudi Arabia has gained experience in dealing with crowds and millions of people, and that it was prepared to handle several sudden scenarios as well as the most difficult situations with success.

Jan said that the difficulties that accompany the presence of viruses — such as the new coronavirus — are their ability to spread and infect through contact or sneezing. He added that the Kingdom is taking precautionary measures to prevent a disaster from happening.

Disinfection

The floors of Makkah’s Grand Mosque are washed and disinfected four times daily as part of measures to ensure the safety of pilgrims and visitors.

Highly qualified cadres use the best technology and cleaning and sanitizing tools, said Jaber Widaani, director of the mosque’s department of disinfection and carpets.

There are 13,500 prayer rugs at the mosque, all of which are swept and fragranced on a daily basis, he added.

Since the new coronavirus emerged in December 2019 in central China, it has sickened 82,000 people globally, with more than 2,700 deaths. The illness it causes was named COVID-19, a reference to its origin late last year.

Middle East countries have been implementing measures to protect their citizens and residents from the rising coronavirus cases.

On Thursday, Dubai’s Emirates announced a temporary ban on carrying Umrah pilgrims and tourists from nearly two dozen countries to Saudi Arabia.

The announcement came after the Kingdom placed a temporary ban on pilgrims from entering the country to perform Umrah, in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Nearly 7 million Umrah pilgrims visit the Kingdom each year, the majority of whom arrive at airports in Jeddah and Madinah.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1634301/saudi-arabia

Saudi Arabia announces
first case of coronavirus

The Kingdom's health ministry said it sent an infection control team immediately to check on the citizen.

March 02, 2020

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia announced on Monday the first coronavirus case in the Kingdom, identified in a Saudi citizen traveling from Iran to the country through Bahrain, Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

According to the report, the person did not disclose to Saudi authorities that they had visited Iran before Bahrain.

The Kingdom's health ministry said it sent an infection control team immediately to check on the citizen, and to take a sample for laboratory examination, as part of its precautionary measures.

The results confirmed the man was infected with COVID-19.

The ministry said it had ensured that the infected person remained isolated in hospital and is receiving medical treatment.

In addition, all those who were in contact with the infected person were counted, and samples were taken from them for examination by the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Results will be announced once the examination is completed.

The ministry urged residents in the Kingdom to contact its hotline on 937 if they have any enquiries related to the virus.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1635781/saudi-arabia

Saudi Arabia reports first coronavirus case

March 2, 2020

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia announced on Monday the detection of the first coronavirus case, a Saudi national traveling from Iran to the Kingdom through Bahrain, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Saudi Ministry of Health announced on Monday the detection of the first Coronavirus (Covid-19) case of a Saudi national. The laboratory results confirmed the first case of infection with Covid-19 for a citizen, who did not declare at the Saudi port about his visit to Iran, the ministry said in a statement.

“Within the framework of the precautionary measures, the ministry sent an infection control team to examine the citizen and to take samples for laboratory tests in which it was confirmed that he was infected with the virus. The citizen has been quarantined in the hospital and is currently undergoing treatment,” the ministry said.

According to the ministry statement, samples were taken from all people who have had contacts with the infected person for laboratory tests at the Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and results will be announced upon completion of the tests.

The ministry called upon all people to contact with its 937 Service Center for any queries about the virus, while stressing that information should be taken from its official sources and not to believe in rumors.

Earlier in the day, Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah had said that the Kingdom has not registered any confirmed cases of coronavirus after testing over 290 suspected cases.

Lauding the precautionary measures taken by the Kingdom since the appearance of the first coronavirus case in China, Al-Rabiah said: “We are closely monitoring all arrivals in the Kingdom, especially from the countries suffering from the disease. All suspected cases are being thoroughly checked up to ensure they are safe. Till now 298 suspected cases have been tested and all of them were found to be safe.”

The minister added: “We have raised the level of health readiness to enhance prevention from the disease. We have formed a committee comprising 17 various authorities to monitor the situation. We are also working as one system to prevent infections and be prepared to deal with the disease in case of any appearance.”

“I advise all the citizens and expatriates to ask the Ministry of Health in case if they have any query about preventing infection of the disease,” the minister said.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5...ronavirus-case

Saudi Arabia suspends Umrah
for domestic pilgrims


Saudi Arabia has suspended temporarily on Wednesday Umrah pilgrimage
for Saudi citizens and expatriates in the Kingdom.

March 4, 2020

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has suspended temporarily on Wednesday Umrah pilgrimage for Saudi citizens and expatriates in the Kingdom. According to a statement of the official source at the Ministry of Interior, the decision was taken in line with recommendation of the committee concerned with following up the developments of the situation of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The concerned authorities would continuously review the decision and will withdraw whenever it found that the reasons for the suspension were disappeared, the statement said.

The Interior Ministry spokesman attributed the preventive measures to the keenness of the Saudi government to support global efforts, especially by the international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to stop the spread of the virus.

“Suspension of Umrah pilgrimage for domestic pilgrims is as an extension of the government’s decision to suspend temporarily entry of pilgrims for the purposes of Umrah and visit of the Prophet’s Mosque from outside the Kingdom, as well as to suspend tourist visas for people from countries where the spread of the novel coronavirus is dangerous,” the statement pointed out.

The spokesman said this decision is part of the preventive measures that the government has consistently taken to limit the spread of the epidemic and prevent its access to the Two Holy Mosques, which are witnessing a permanent huge flow of pilgrims.

It also comes in line with the precautionary measures taken by Saudi authorities to prevent the spread of the virus into the Kingdom and to complement the efforts that have been taken to ensure maximum safety of citizens and expatriates, the statement added.

The first case of COVID-19 was reported in Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Ministry of Health announced the detection of the first coronavirus case of a Saudi national traveling from Iran to the Kingdom through Bahrain.

As part of the precautionary measures, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had suspended temporarily Umrah visas for all countries and tourism visas for 22 countries effective from last Thursday. The authorities have clarified that passengers holding employment visa, work visit visa, business visit visa and family visit visa are exempted from the travel restrictions.

The Council of Ministers on Tuesday emphasized that the precautionary measures that the Kingdom has taken against Coronavirus to ensure maximum safety of citizens, expatriates as well as pilgrims and visitors.

“The measures were taken in order to complement the efforts aimed at providing the utmost protection to the safety of citizens, residents and all those coming to the Kingdom’s territories to perform Umrah, visiting the Prophet’s Mosque or for tourism,” the Council said in a statement.

The Cabinet also hailed the efforts made by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, the Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies to contain the virus, follow up on any economic repercussions and make the necessary arrangements to deal with it.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5...estic-pilgrims