MAKKAH: Mask-clad Muslims circled Islam’s holiest site along socially distanced paths on Sunday, as Saudi authorities partially resumed the year-round Umra with extensive health precautions adopted after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus.

Thousands of worshippers entered the Grand Mosque in Makkah in batches to perform the ritual of circling the Kaaba.

The Umra, which usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year, was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is being revived in three phases, with Saudi Haj Minister Mohammad Benten saying last week that 6,000 pilgrims per day would be allowed in the first stage to perform the Umra “meticulously and within a specified period of time”.

“In an atmosphere of faith and with assured hearts... the first batch of pilgrims begin the pilgrimage in accordance with the precautionary measures laid out,” the Haj ministry said on Twitter.

Many precautions have been adopted to ward off any outbreaks, according to state media. The Grand Mosque is to be sterilised after each group of worshippers leaves the place.

Each group of 20 or 25 pilgrims are to be accompanied by a health worker and medical teams will be on the ground in case of an emergency, according to Benten.

Thermal sensors have been installed to measure the body temperature of the pilgrims, the authorities said.

The safety, comfort and health of the pilgrims was a priority for the kingdom, the general presidency for the affairs of the two holy mosques said, calling them the “guests of Allah”.

Under the second stage from October 18, the number of pilgrims will be increased to 15,000 per day. Visitors from abroad will be permitted in the third stage from November 1, when capacity will be raised to 20,000.

A maximum of 40,000 people, including other worshippers, will be allowed to perform prayers at the mosque in the second stage and 60,000 in the third, according to the interior ministry.

The decision to resume the pilgrimage was taken in response to the “aspirations of Muslims home and abroad”, the ministry said last month.

It said the Umra will be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has abated. Until then, the health ministry will vet countries from which pilgrims are allowed to enter based on the health risks.

Saudi Arabia suspended the Umra in March and scaled back the annual Haj pilgrimage over fears the coronavirus could spread to Islam’s holiest cities and back to pilgrims’ home countries.

Haj went ahead in late July, on the smallest scale in modern history, with only up to 10,000 Muslim residents of the country allowed to take part — a far cry from the 2.5 million who participated last year.

Health authorities said no coronavirus cases were reported at the holy sites during Haj.

The pilgrimages are a massive logistical challenge, with colossal crowds cramming into relatively small holy sites, making them vulnerable to contagion. The holy sites are also a key revenue earner for the kingdom, whose economy has been badly hit by a coronavirus-driven collapse in the global demand for oil.

Saudi Arabia has had more than 335,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 4,850 deaths.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2020