Saudi Arabia Calls for Postponing Hajj Contract

Riyadh, MINA – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once again asked the governments of the Hajj countries to postpone the completion of contracts related to the ritual.

It is while waiting for the Saudis to ascertain the influence of Covid-19 outbreak on the event which will gather millions of Muslims in the Holy City of Makkah and its surroundings.

“Saudi Arabia is fully prepared to serve the pilgrims and Umrah. However, in the current situation, because we are talking about a global pandemic, the Saudis want to protect the health of Muslims and citizens, and therefore we have asked our brothers, Muslims in all countries, to wait before entering into a contract (pilgrimage) until the situation is clear, “Saudi Arabia’s Hajj and Umrah Minister Muhammad Saleh Benten said on al-Ekhbariya television on Tuesday as quoted from saudigazette.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to extend the suspension of all domestic and international flights, including attendance at work, until further notice.

“The government will extend the suspension of workplace presence in all government agencies, except those under the excluded sector,” the Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry statement said.

In the private sector, all workplace attendance has also been suspended until further notice. According to the report, internal travel inside Arabia, including flights, buses, taxis, and train activities, has been suspended indefinitely in an effort to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Until Wednesday, there were 1,563 cases of Covid-19 in Arabia, and 10 died.

The Saudis had previously banned the arrival of Umrah pilgrims as well as periodically closing the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. Regional quarantine in the afternoon until morning also applies in Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Jeddah. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)