Saudi Arabia suspends entry for Umrah pilgrimage, tourism amid coronavirus

Move comes a day after Pakistan also confirms its first two cases of the deadly contagion

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday suspended foreigners’ entry for the Umrah pilgrimage and tourism from countries including Pakistan where the new coronavirus has spread, as a growing number of cases outside China deepened fears of a pandemic.

Pakistan had confirmed its first two cases of the deadly contagion – medically named COVID-19 – on Wednesday night with the de facto federal health minister reassuring people “there is no need to panic”.

The kingdom, which hosts the two holiest sites of Islam in Makkah and Madina, welcomes millions of Muslim visitors throughout the year with a peak for the hajj pilgrimage. It introduced a new tourism visa last October for 49 countries.



KSA’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that the suspensions were temporary but provided no timeframe for their expiry. It was unclear if the hajj pilgrimage, which is scheduled to begin in late July, would be impacted.

As a result, flights to Jeddah and Medina from Karachi, Sialkot and Islamabad have been cancelled. According to sources people who have a work permit and business visa can travel to the kingdom.

The Aviation Division has also issued instructions to national (PIA) and other airlines, whose official notification will be issued shortly.

Etihad Airways has issued instructions to offload any umrah passengers.

"Please off holding (Umrah, visit, tourism) visas from KSA to your respective stations until further notice," read a notification issued by Etihad Airways.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

The airline has offloaded 90 Umrah pilgrims at Islamabad International Airport.

Entry is also suspended for visits to the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Mosque in Madina.

Saudi Arabia has had no cases of the coronavirus but it has been spreading in some neighbouring countries.

The ministry did not specify people from which countries would be impacted but said the kingdom’s health authorities would determine where the outbreak constituted a danger.

Saudi Arabia’s top tourism official said this week 400,000 tourist visas had been issued since their launch in October and the country aims to attract 100 million annual visits in 2030.

The number of new coronavirus infections inside China – the source of the outbreak – was for the first time overtaken by new cases elsewhere on Wednesday, with Italy and Iran emerging as epicentres of the rapidly spreading illness.



Asia reported hundreds of new cases, Brazil confirmed Latin America’s first infection and the new disease – COVID-19 – was also detected for the first time in Pakistan, Sweden, Norway, Greece, Romania and Algeria.

US health authorities, managing 59 cases – mostly Americans repatriated from a cruise ship in Japan – have said a global pandemic is likely. President Donald Trump told Americans on Wednesday that the risk remained “very low”, and placed Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the US response.