RIYADH — There is no age requirement for children accompanying their families to perform prayer at the Two Holy Mosques, Hajj Ministry's Assistant Undersecretary for the Service of Pilgrims and Umrah Performers Hisham Bin Abdel Moneim Saeed confirmed. Saeed clarified during an interview with Al Saudiya channel that to organize pilgrims according to the absorptive capacity, the Ministry has restricted the minimum age for issuing permits to perform Umrah and pray at Al-Rawdah Sharifa to be limited only to children aged 5 and over. Pilgrims wishing to perform Umrah can issue permits through the Eatamarna and Tawakkalna apps, Saeed said, while noting that the two applications are necessary to facilitate the organizational processes and to know the extent of the absorptive capacity, in addition to improving pilgrims' digital experience. Non-vaccinated people who have not received COVID-19 vaccines or who have not completed immunization can perform Umrah and enter the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, but provided that they are not infected with coronavirus or have been in contact with people who have been confirmed to be infected with the virus. It is noteworthy that the Hajj and Umrah Ministry, based on the decision to lift the precautionary measures in the Two Holy Mosques, has canceled the permits to pray in the Grand Mosque and the permits to visit the Prophet's Mosque. It is still mandatory to obtain permits for performing Umrah and visit Al-Rawdah Sharifa in the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. The ministry has also canceled the requirement to submit an approved PCR test, as well as cancelling the institutional and home quarantine for pilgrims coming from abroad. Also, there's no need to register immunization information for pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom to obtain an Umrah permit. All social distancing measures in the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque are canceled, but all still have to wear facemasks.
