Government Bans People From Going Abroad, AMPUH: If Umrah Is Not Traveling But Worship

JAKARTA - The government has officially asked the public not to travel abroad to reduce the potential for transmission of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

Even so, the appeal will not interfere with the planned Umrah departure which will be held from December 23.

Chairman of the Independent Affiliate of Umrah and Hajj Organizers (AMPUH) Abdul Azis, assessed that Umrah trips were different from trips to vacation for the end of year holidays.

According to him, Umrah is a journey as well as worship to get closer to Allah, not a year-end vacation category.

"Umrah is not traveling but going to worship," said Abdul in Jakarta, Wednesday, December 15.

According to Abdul, the governments of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have the same vision to be able to handle the spread of COVID-19 as best as possible. The Ministry of Religion (Kemenag), he said, had also arranged in such a way that the implementation of Umrah was still carried out with very strict health procedures. "So there are no cases (cases, red) that occurred from this umrah," he said.

Moreover, Abdul continued, before leaving and after returning home for Umrah, pilgrims are also required to undergo quarantine for a long time. "In Indonesia, the day before leaving for Umrah pilgrims, they have entered a one-night quarantine, when they arrived in Saudi they were also quarantined for three days. Later, they returned home to a 10-day quarantine, so that the possibility of contracting the infection could be anticipated as early as possible," he explained. The organizer of Umrah and Hajj (AMPUH) Indonesia, Wawan Suhada, said that the Umrah departure plan was still on schedule. “Almost one plane. Currently in the process of applying (Umrah visa, ed). The QR code at Siskopatuh (Kemenag) is OK,'' said Wawan in Jakarta, Tuesday, December 14.

Wawan emphasized that the first Umrah was not facilitated by the government, but the organizers of the Umrah pilgrimage (PPIU). The departure plan is coordinated by all Umrah travel associations. However, the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) continues to monitor it.

Wawan said that the Umrah package lasted 11 days. The plan is for the congregants to return to their homeland on January 2, 2022. Wawan hopes that when they return home, the Indonesian government will no longer enforce the ten-day quarantine obligation.