The kingdom reduced visits to major mosques in Mecca and Medina in March after the devoted meetings of major spreaders of the virus in the Middle East and other parts of the world; it also blocked parts of its economy, but eased June restrictions to the fullest.
Under the new regulations, foreign citizens of Saudi Arabia will be allowed to enter the Great Mosque of Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina for the Umra pilgrimage throughout the year starting on October 4, the Ministry of the Inside.
The capacity of the two mosques will first be limited to 30% and will gradually increase to one hundred percent on 1 November, when pilgrims will also be allowed to enter from outside the kingdom. , and the faithful should wear masks and practice social distance.
The slow recovery of devout tourism, a main source of income for the Saudi government, follows a nearly three-month drop in reported infections that led the government last week to initiate barriers to overseas travel.
Saudi Arabia’s economy has been hit by falling oil prices, while coronavirus measures have hurt its emerging tourism and entertainment sectors. Gross domestic product fell 1% in the first quarter and the Monetary Fund Internacional expects it to contract by 6. 8% overall this year.
The government has tried to strike a balance between fighting the pandemic and protecting the economy and respecting its daily jobs as guardians of maximum devotion in the Muslim world.
Reopening occurs amid a new wave of infections in the region. Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel recorded their biggest daily infection increases this month. Last week, Israel has become the first evolved country in the world to impose itself. a moment of blockade, causing Jewish festivities.
The Iranian government has cancelled annual meetings in Arbaeen, one of the most vital occasions for devotion in the Shia Muslim calendar. Usually thousands of Iranian pilgrims go to Iraq for the devout holiday, but Iraq has banned foreign pilgrims from entering the country on this day. Year.
Europe is wielding restrictions to curb a new wave of infections after previous blockades were relaxed. Britain announced a series of new restrictions this week as it tries to quell a momentary wave, and Spain has imposed a partial blockade in Madrid while dealing with Europe’s biggest epidemic.
As Saudi Arabia resurfaces after a longer closure than the maximum of its neighbors, it also faces the challenge of avoiding a resurgence of the disease.
The government completely reopened the purchase of shopping malls, restaurants and offices in June, even as new infections peaked at about 5,000, new instances now hover around 500 per day. It’s the biggest epidemic of the moment in the Middle East after Iran.
The Saudi government allowed the resumption of foreign flights last week, however, it said foreigners will have to have negative control for Covid-19 no more than 48 hours before entering and then isolating themselves for 3 days upon arrival.
Mecca and Medina, whose overcrowded slums were absolutely blocked for weeks at the start of the pandemic, have suffered some of the worst outbreaks in the country.
In July, the kingdom hosted a drastically reduced pilgrimage, with faithful confined to small groups, unlike the millions of people attending one of Islam’s most important annual rituals.
Saudi Arabia announced last month that it would conduct 3 trials of coronavirus vaccine applicants being developed across Russia and China, but the local government said they were still evaluating safety requirements.
Last week, U. A. E. se have become the first open-air country in China to approve the emergency use of a Chinese candidate vaccine for frontline medical personnel, following phase 3 trials in Gulf Country that lasted less than two months.
The U. A. E. has also tested one of China’s candidate vaccines in Jordan and Bahrain, which the crown prince will participate in the trial.
Sune Rasmussen contributed to this article.
Write to Stephen Kalin in stephen. kalin@wsj. com
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