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Cairo - Capacity increased to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month.
Saudi Arabia will gradually begin receiving Umrah pilgrimage requests from abroad for vaccinated pilgrims starting August to 9 after about a year and a half of not receiving overseas worshippers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the state news agency (SPA) reported early on Sunday.
With a capacity that would rise to 2 million pilgrims from 60,000 pilgrims per month, Makkah, Madina will start welcoming pligrims while maintaining Covid-19 precautionary measures.
An official in the Hajj and Umrah Ministry said domestic and overseas pilgrims will have to include authorised Covid-19 vaccination certificates along with their Umrah request.
Vaccinated pilgrims from countries that Saudi Arabia includes on its entry-ban list will have to be institutionally quarantined upon arrival, the report added.