87 Indonesian Umrah Congregants Confirmed Positive For COVID-19

A number of prospective Umrah pilgrims walk at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Saturday (8/1/2022) / Antara

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Health reported that as many as 87 Indonesian Umrah pilgrims departing January 8, 2022, were confirmed positive for COVID-19.

"It's true, there are 87 pilgrims who have tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, there are ten people with probable Omicron," said Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, who was confirmed in Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Friday, January 21.

Nadia said the ten worshipers suspected of being exposed to Omicron were in the process of examining samples at the genome sequencing laboratory to determine the variant of COVID-19 that was lodged in the body.

The Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Diseases of the Directorate General of P2P of the Ministry of Health said the number of Umrah pilgrims who departed from the country was 414 people.

Apart from those confirmed positive for COVID-19 and probable Omicron, said Nadia, the majority of the first Umrah pilgrims during the COVID-19 pandemic were declared healthy. As is known, the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) dispatched 414 first Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on January 8, 2022.

The departure of the first Umrah congregation was a long wait because it had to be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All departed pilgrims have followed the One Gate Policy (OGP) procedure.

OGP provisions are made based on agreements between countries to encourage compliance with health protocols both in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia so that they can be monitored properly.