Today, Wednesday, the Saudi authorities decided to suspend Umrah "temporarily" for citizens and residents in the Kingdom, fearing the arrival of the new Corona virus to the Grand Mosque in Makkah Al-Mukarramah and the Prophet's Mosque in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, about a week after it suspended pilgrims.
The Saudi Press Agency quoted an official source at the Ministry of Interior that the Kingdom decided to "temporarily suspend Umrah for citizens and residents in the Kingdom ... to limit the spread of the Coronavirus epidemic ... and prevent its arrival to the Two Holy Mosques."
The source added, saying that this decision will be reviewed "continuously and stop working with it whenever the reasons that called for it no longer exist."
And Saudi Arabia had suspended entry to its lands for the purposes of Umrah and visiting the Prophet's Mosque temporarily, and also suspended entry with tourist visas for those coming from countries where the spread of the Corona virus is dangerous.
It also decided to suspend its citizens and their counterparts in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council from using the national identity card to travel to and from the Kingdom.
According to the same source, an exception is made for Saudis who are abroad if their exit from the country is with a national identity card, and citizens of the Cooperation Council who are currently inside the Kingdom and wish to return to their countries, if their entry was with an ID card.
Yesterday, Monday, the Ministry of Health announced the registration of the first case of coronavirus infection for a citizen coming from Iran via the Kingdom of Bahrain.