“The new conditions will inform all pilgrims of what health arrangements they have to make before they can proceed to the Kingdom to perform Haj,” Undersecretary of the Haj Ministry Dr. Ziyad Maimash told Arab News on Wednesday.
He, however, would not say if the new health conditions would be the same as those last year, which prevented people under 12 and above 60 from performing Haj because of the swine flu pandemic and made it a must for all pilgrims to be vaccinated against the disease.
“Everything will be clear when the new health conditions are announced within the next few days,” he said. The Haj Ministry usually endorses the recommendations of the Health Ministry, which then needs to be strictly observed by everyone coming for Haj or Umrah.
Meanwhile, Fellow Haj Ministry Undersecretary Hatim Qadi told Arab News that the ministry has completed about 98 percent of arrangements for the next pilgrimage.
He said meetings were held with Haj missions of all countries, during which arrangements and preparations were discussed.
He said the use of the Makkah Metro during the pilgrimage was discussed during a workshop held by a number of government bodies, including the governorate, the Ministry of Rural and Municipal Affairs, the Directorate General of Civil Defense, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj research, among others.
The official said a number of other workshops were held on how to manage pilgrims on the Jamrat Bridge.
He also said Haj Minister Dr. Fouad Abdul Salam Al-Farsi will approve the Tawafa establishments’ plan in August.
Sources at the Haj Ministry told Arab News that a total of 2.2 million people have performed Umrah since the beginning of the year.
They said Umrah visas would be granted until the end of Shaaban (August) and added that all Umrah pilgrims should leave the country in Shawwal (two months before Haj).
