Saudi suspends 'umrah' pilgrimage over coronavirus fears

21:02, March 04, 2020

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  Saudi Arabia closes off holy sites, suspends visas over coronavirus

  Saudi Arabia on Thursday closed off the holiest sites in Islam to foreign pilgrims over the coronavirus, disrupting travel for thousands of Muslims already headed to the kingdom and potentially affecting plans later this year for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual Hajj pilgrimage.Muslims pray at the Grand Mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in their holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 8, 2019. (Photo: CGTN)Mecca, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that the worlds 1.8 billion Muslims pray toward five times a day, and the holy city of Medina will not receive any pilgrims before the ban is lifted. Officials in the kingdom said the ban was temporary, but gave no indication how long it might last.The unprecedented move, which wasnt taken even during the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide, showed the growing worry about the virus across the Middle East, which now has more than 360 confirmed cases.On the same day, the Saudi ministry of tourism also suspended issuing electronic tourist visas for those coming from China, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Kazakhstan, nations which are hit by the virus the hardest.The ministry also decided to suspend work on tourist visas previously issued to citizens of these countries.Hajj attracts about 3 million Muslims from around the world every year, making the holy shrines one of the most densely packed areas in the world. Accidents almost always occur during each Hajj. In 2015, for example, some 2,000 pilgrims were killed during a stampede. Every Muslim is required to visit Mecca during the Hajj at least once in his or her lifetime.The regions hardest-hit nation is Iran, which is Saudi Arabias biggest nearby rival, with the death toll reaching at least 26, the largest behind only China, where the epidemic began.The number of infections in Iran has spiked by over 100 to at least 254, but a World Health Organization official said ...

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  Saudi Arabia suspends entry to perform Umrah among measures against COVID-19

  RIYADH, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday precautionary and temporary measures against the novel coronavirus, including the entry to the kingdom for performing Umrah.File photo: CGTNThe measures include suspension of visits to the Prophets Mosque in Medina and tourist visas for nationals of countries with confirmed coronavirus outbreaks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the Saudi Press Agency.Neighboring countries have confirmed multiple COVID-19 cases among people who arrived from Iran, it added.The ministry said that health authorities have followed the developments related to the spread of the virus, and adopted precautionary measures affecting travel to and from the country.

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  Are coronavirus fears being over-hyped by the media?

  [Photo/Xinhua] It seemed like a long time ago when the term "coronavirus" was first splashed across the news in early 2020. Since the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease, officially known as COVID-19, was first reported from Wuhan, China, in December 2019, the disease has