108,041 Umrah permits issued

A total of 108,041 permits were issued for pilgrims between the launch of the Eatmarna app on Sept. 27 up to Oct. 1, according to official statistics released by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

Saudis were granted 42,873 permits while expats were granted 65,168.

As many as 16,000 pilgrims registered for Umrah on the app in the first hour of its launch; the number reached 309,686 Saudis and expats by the end of the first week of its launch, including 224,929 registered pilgrims and 84,757 companions.

Statistics have also shown that among those wishing to perform Umrah, pilgrims aged between 51 and 60 years old represented the lowest percentage with 8 percent, followed by pilgrims between 41 and 50 years old with 14 percent, pilgrims between 20 and 30 years with 17 percent, pilgrims between 31 and 40 years old with 26 percent and pilgrims over 60 years old with 35 percent.

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques told Arab News that several scenarios have been adopted to organize the pilgrims’ movement inside the Grand Mosque during this year’s exceptional Umrah season. In the first scenario, pilgrims will perform Umrah rituals in a spiral motion, from the outside to the inside of the Grand Mosque, and in the second pilgrims will be divided into groups of 50 accompanied by supervisors.

The ministry said that the first phase will run for 13 days, and in the second phase permits will be issued for prayers in the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Sacred Chamber, while in the third stage Muslims from outside the Kingdom will be allowed to perform Umrah.

The presidency stressed the Grand Mosque’s readiness to receive pilgrims — an integral plan was developed for this Umrah season to serve pilgrims and ensure their safety.

This came during a remote press conference held recently by the presidency, during which the deputy president for administrative and financial affairs, Dr. Saad bin Mohammed Al-Mohaimeed, said that the presidency has recruited more than 1,000 employees to follow up on pilgrims at the Grand Mosque.

The number of pilgrims registered for Umrah on the app by the end of the first week of its launch reached 309,686.

The presidency, he added, has taken proactive measures with a plan that ensures the development of work, improvement of performance and training of human cadres. “Employees will be working according to shifts to serve 2,000 pilgrims, with 125 supervisors in each shift. Supervisors from the presidency and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will cooperate and coordinate to organize the crowds,” he said.

Meanwhile, the deputy president of services and technical affairs at the Grand Mosque, Mohammed bin Musleh Al-Jabiri, said that thermal cameras will be installed at the gates, pilgrims will be banned from taking food and beverages into the Grand Mosque, social distancing between pilgrims will be observed, and the use of public touch screens will not be allowed.

The deputy president of architectural studies and projects, Sultan Al-Qurshi, said that two tracks have been set for Tawaf (circumambulation), where each group of 100 pilgrims will be given 15 minutes to perform the seven rounds of Tawaf, allowing 6,000 pilgrims to perform Tawaf during the 15 hours allocated for the ritual.

He said that there is a possibility of adding a third track, where up to 150 pilgrims will be allowed 15 minutes to perform Tawaf; 6,000 pilgrims in 10 hours.ArabNews