Ministry Of Religion Ensures Doors To The Holy Land Are Still Open Saudi Arabia Even Though Omicron Is Rising

Deputy Minister of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi after giving a briefing (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi said more than 3,900 Muslims from Indonesia had been dispatched to the Holy Land of Mecca to perform Umrah in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"So far, as of January 19, the number of our Umrah pilgrims has reached 3,900, which means that quite a few have already left," said Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi in Banda Aceh, as reported by Antara, Friday, January 21.

The Indonesian government began to dispatch Umrah pilgrims in early January 2022, after obtaining permits and Umrah quotas from the Government of Saudi Arabia.

Until now, said Zainut, the Saudi Arabian government still gave permission to Indonesia to send Umrah pilgrims even though cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 were increasing.

"The government of Saudi Arabia is still open, whatever the amount, please. But again we are reminded that because of the new variant of COVID-19, we are still asked to apply health protocols," he said.

Therefore, the Ministry of Religion also ensures that the departure process for Umrah pilgrims will continue to apply the one-gate policy (OGP) scheme.

This means that before the pilgrims depart for the Holy Land, they are quarantined for one day in the Hajj dormitory, to ensure travel documents and health documents.

"So don't arrive in Saudi Arabia, there will be new problems (COVID-19 infection)," he said.

In addition, according to Zainut, in the next few months, the government will also face the implementation of the 1443 Hijri pilgrimage or the 2021 Hajj. Therefore, the implementation of the departure of Umrah pilgrims with a one-door mechanism is part of the simulation for the Hajj season.

"This is also part of the simulation (departure) of our pilgrimage for the month of Zulhijjah later," said Zainut.