Saudi Arabia is to begin to accept vaccinated foreign visitors to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina as part of the Umrah pilgrimage.
As of Monday, authorities will start to take travel requests. Since August the 1st, vaccinated foreign tourists are also allowed in. Last month, only around 60,000 vaccinated residents were allowed to take part in a scale-down Hajj.
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims who are able to must perform at least once in their lifetime. It takes place at a set time pf the year: in 2022, it will run from 7 to 12 July. Saudi Arabia will initially allow 60,000 pilgrims to perform the pilgrimage each month, gradually increasing the numbers to reach 2 million per month. Foreign visitors will however have to agree to undergo quarantine if necessary as the country has recorded nearly 532,000 coronavirus cases and 8,300 deaths.
