Saudi Arabia will gradually resume the year-round Umrah pilgrimage for Muslims from October 4, the interior ministry said, seven months after it was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The kingdom had suspended Umrah in March and later scaled back the annual Haj in a blow to millions of pilgrims around the world amid fears that the coronavirus could spread to Islam's holiest sites.

In the first stage, “6,000 citizens and residents within the kingdom will be allowed to perform Umrah per day from October 4”, the ministry said in a statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Visitors from outside the kingdom will be permitted from November 1, when Umrah's capacity will be raised to 20,000 pilgrims per day, the ministry added.

The ministry said umrah would be allowed to resume at full “natural capacity” once the threat of the pandemic is eliminated, AFP reported.