PHSSR Saudi Arabia 2025

On 4 March 2020, the Saudi Arabian government also suspended the Umrah. Its resumption, organised and approved by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, consisted of four phases (see Figures 15 and 16). 86 Sustainability and Resilience in the Saudi Arabian Health System The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience Figure 15: Timeline of the resumption of Umrah in 2020 The first phase , on 4 October 2020, only permitted pilgrims who were Saudi citizens or residents. Participation was limited to only 20,000 pilgrims per day and use of the Eatmarna (meaning ‘Let’s perform Umrah’) application to obtain permits was mandatory to further control the number and health status of those attending. The wearing of face masks was mandatory and social distancing was strictly enforced. The second phase , from 18 October 2020, permitted Saudi citizens and residents to perform Umrah and pray in the Grand Mosque, with capacity limited to 75%, allowing 15,000 pilgrims and 40,000 worshippers (e.g., prayers and visitors) per day. The third phase , from 1 November 2020, allowed pilgrims from abroad to perform Umrah with a full capacity of 20,000 pilgrims and 60,000 worshippers per day. The final phase allowed Umrah and prayer to be performed at the two Holy Mosques at normal capacity in 2023.