Saudi Arabia's Latest Rules, Prospective Umrah Pilgrims Recipient Of The Sinovac Vaccine Must Quarantine For 3 Days

JAKARTA - Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, stated the latest regulation from the Saudi Arabian authorities is that prospective Umrah pilgrims who receive the full dose of Sinovac vaccine must undergo a three-day quarantine upon arrival in the holy land.

"For Umrah pilgrims who have been vaccinated with complete doses of vaccines recognized by WHO, a three-day quarantine will be imposed", said Minister of Religion Yaqut during a Hearing Meeting (RDP) with Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives which was followed online in Jakarta, Antara, Tuesday, November 30.

Yaqut said that until now Saudi Arabia has only recognized four types of vaccines, namely Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson. Those who have received the vaccine can carry out worship without having to quarantine first.

Meanwhile, vaccines that are not recognized by Saudi Arabia but have been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) are required to quarantine for three days. The majority of Indonesian pilgrims have received the Sinovac vaccine, so they are required to undergo quarantine.

"For Umrah pilgrims who come from abroad using an Umrah visa and have been injected with a vaccine recognized by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a complete dose, they are allowed to perform Umrah immediately and quarantine is not enforced", he said.

According to Yaqut, Saudi Arabia allows pilgrims who receive the Sinovac vaccine without going through the quarantine process, provided that they have received booster vaccines from four recognized vaccines.

"Unless you are boosted with one of the four recognized vaccines and that's 14 days of efficacy. So for 14 days before leaving, you must have been vaccinated with a booster of one of the four vaccines", he said.

Previously, Saudi Arabia had lifted the suspension of flights from Indonesia, starting December 1, 2021, so that citizens of the country could fly directly to Saudi Arabia without having to transit to a third country, said an official from the Indonesian Ministry of Religion.

"The circular issued by the Saudi Arabian aviation authority or the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), dated November 25, 2021, also applies to flights of Umrah pilgrims", said Director General of Hajj and Umrah Organization (PHU) of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion Hilman Latief.

However, Hilman said, it does not mean that the departure of Umrah pilgrims can be carried out immediately on December 1, 2021. Because there is still a preparatory process that must be carried out, including data collection on pilgrims, service packages, and visa processing.

"Following the lifting of the flight suspension, the Indonesian Ministry of Religion and the Saudi Ministry of Hajj will discuss the technical implementation of Umrah", said Hilman.