Saudi Arabia suspends admission of pilgrims due to coronavirus

The unprecedented decision prevents traditional visits to the holy city of Mecca by Muslims from other countries. Tourists from places where there are cases of Covid-19 are also affected. Iran has records 22 deaths.

Pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca in August 2018

Saudi Arabia suspended this Thursday (27/02) the entrance of pilgrims visiting the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad and the holy places of Islam in Mecca and Medina, as well as that of tourists from countries affected by the coronavirus that causes Covid- 19.

The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a list of measures to “prevent and eliminate” the expansion of the new coronavirus, which includes the “suspension of entry into the kingdom for the purposes of Umra,” the pilgrimage to Mecca, which can be carried out at any time. Time of year.

The ministry also reported that entry into the kingdom on tourist visas is forbidden to people from countries affected by the new coronavirus. At the end of last year, the ultraconservative kingdom introduced new visas as part of the boost to tourism, a measure that facilitated entry into the territory after decades of isolation.

Saudi Arabia is home to some of the most sacred places in Islam, including the city of Mecca. The unprecedented suspension was announced a few months from the hajj, the great annual pilgrimage that is one of the five pillars of Islam and attracts millions of devotees from around the planet every year.

Saudi Arabia has reported no cases of the new coronavirus, although some of its citizens living in other countries have tested positive since the outbreak began. The virus has already affected most countries in the Middle East, where there are more than 240 confirmed cases.

This week, Covid-19 expanded across the region and caused a wave of suspensions of air and sea routes, especially between the other Arab countries and Iran, but it also began to affect connections with Italy, South Korea and Thailand.

Although the number of new cases has receded in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, there has been a rapid increase in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates has already registered 13 new cases of Covid-19, Bahrain, 33, and Oman have 4 cases.

Kuwait announced that there are 43 confirmed cases in the country, a jump from 26 the previous day. They are all related to people who recently traveled to Iran.

Iraqi authorities announced the closure of schools, universities, cinemas, and cafes until March 7, after the first case of the new coronavirus was confirmed in Baghdad.

As with the other five cases recorded in the country, the patient was recently in Iran, the country that is the biggest outbreak of the virus in the region, with 22 deaths out of 141 infections until this Thursday – the highest number of deaths outside China. The worst-hit province is Qom, with 63 confirmed cases, according to official figures.