Temporary suspension of umrah travel from Jan 8 over Omicron concerns - Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has decided to temporarily suspend the permission for travelling to perform the umrah beginning Jan 8 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

In announcing this today, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the authorities were concerned that non-compliance with home quarantine procedures among returning pilgrims had caused the spread of the new variant among family members.

"Most pilgrims who returned from performing the umrah applied to undergo their seven-day quarantine at home. However, when there was non-compliance with the stipulated standard operating procedure (SOP), positive COVID-19 cases among umrah pilgrims caused the infection to spread among family members.

"Due to non-compliance with the home quarantine procedures, family members living in the same house or neighbours and relatives who come visiting are exposed to COVID-19 infection," he told a press conference here.

He said a special meeting was held yesterday to discuss the situation with several agencies involved in umrah pilgrim management, including the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry; Wakaf, Zakat and Haj Department; Transport Ministry; National Security Council; National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA); Immigraton Department and Association of Umrah and Haj Tour Agencies.