Saudi cancels 14-day waiting period between Umrah

Jeddah: The ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia announced that pilgrims wishing to perform Umrah would no longer need to wait for 14 days to book for the ritual, Arab News reported.

Chief of planning and strategy officer at the ministry, Amr Al-Maddah, told Arab News that the operational capacity of the Grand Mosque, Masjid al-Haram, is increased for Umrah and prayers as the preventive measures have been eased.

The officer said that in line with the developments at the current stage, which increased demand in the dates available to perform Umrah, the ministry made the feature available for pilgrims. He said that the 14-day condition is no longer necessary and will achieve a fair opportunity for all due to the high demand.

The Kingdom has eased restrictions within as the Ministry of Interior announced the same on October 16. This allowed the return of full operation and capacity of Masjid-al-Haram and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah.