Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced today that Umrah trips to Saudi Arabia will be temporarily postponed, effective 8th January 2022.
The move, made in light of increasing Covid-19 positive cases and the rampant spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant, will also affect the booking of new Umrah flight tickets starting from 1st January 2022.
Here is the Ministry of Health’s media statement on the matter.
“Umrah pilgrims returning to the country from 3 Jan will be subjected to mandatory quarantine identified as quarantine stations by the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA).”
Khairy also mentioned that those with planned flights departing to the holy land between 1st January 2022 to 7th January 2022 are allowed to continue as planned.
“Upon arrival, they too will undergo quarantine as identified by NADMA.”
The move was in line with recent reports that a total of 2,736 Covid-19 positive cases were reported among travelers arriving at international gateways.
From 1st January 2021 to 20th December 2021, a total of 1,446 Covid-19 positive cases were detected among travelers arriving from Saudi Arabia, 322 cases from those arriving from Singapore, 264 cases from Indonesia and 217 cases from the United Kingdom.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Also read: Saudi Arabia Now A High Risk Country, Travellers To Wear Digital Tracker When In M’sia
