Saudi announces readiness to welcome 70,000 umrah pilgrims a day

KUALA LUMPUR: The General Presidency of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque announced its readiness to welcome the arrival of 70,000 umrah pilgrims a day.

According to the department's Twitter account, quoting the statement of the deputy head of the affairs of the Grand Mosque Dr Saad Muhammad Al-Muhaimid, his party is ready to receive more pilgrims from inside and outside Saudi Arabia and provide the best service to facilitate all pilgrim-related affairs.

According to media reports, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia planned to increase the number of Umrah pilgrims to 120,000 from the current 60,000. All operations and preparations for the arrival of the pilgrims are in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOP) and all preventive measures set by the government of Saudi Arabia to facilitate the pilgrims to perform the umrah.

The presidency will always monitor all areas of the the Grand Mosque from time to time to ensure the smooth running of activities.

The Saudi Gazette news portal also reported that the increase in the figure was made as the country expects to receive many umrah pilgrims from around the world this year as the pilgrimage was halted last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

-- BERNAMA