Ministry Of Religion Asks Prospective Umrah Pilgrims To Immediately Participate In COVID-19 Vaccination Program

Illustration (Photo by Marisol Benitez on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion asked prospective Indonesian Umrah pilgrims to immediately participate in the COVID-19 vaccination program as an absolute requirement in order to be able to go to other countries, including Saudi Arabia.

"There are still many of our prospective pilgrims who have not yet been vaccinated. Even though the absolute requirement is that people will gather or visit one country, the absolute conditions must be fulfilled," said Plt. Ministry of Religion's Director General of Hajj and Umrah Organization Khoirizi in a webinar that was attended from Jakarta, reported by Antara, Tuesday, September 21.

This statement was made by Khoirizi in response to the wishes of prospective Umrah pilgrims who want to be able to leave for the Holy Land as soon as possible. However, Khorizi did not specify how many quotas and the number of prospective Umrah pilgrims who have not received the vaccine.

On the other hand, the government continues to lobby for Indonesia to get convenience in organizing Umrah, including opening direct flights for prospective pilgrims from the country and not having to get a booster vaccine from the four recommended vaccines.

The government's various efforts, he said, must be supported by the people themselves, especially prospective Umrah pilgrims. Those who want to leave must get the vaccine as soon as possible and help in breaking the chain of transmission.

If the vaccination rate is high, supported by the implementation of strict health protocols, it will have implications for reducing transmission and death rates. That way, the government will have big capital in lobbying Saudi Arabia.

"Let's not go to Saudi Arabia, we are asked whether we have been vaccinated or not. Whether or not Umrah is available, vaccines are an obligation, maintaining protocols is an obligation. If we can't maintain that, it's impossible for us to perform Umrah during a pandemic," he said. he confirmed.

In the near future, the government will visit Saudi Arabia to conduct high-level diplomacy. The meeting was to meet all relevant ranks in Saudi Arabia and assure them that Indonesia is ready to perform Umrah.

"Let's all, in this case, the organizers of Umrah, we immediately prepare prospective pilgrims when Saudi Arabia opens (implementing Umrah for prospective Indonesian pilgrims) we are ready," he said.