Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced that it will allow pilgrims residing inside the country to undertake the Umrah pilgrimage beginning on October 4.

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The pilgrimage had been halted for the past seven months due to coronavirus concerns, state news agency SPA reported.

Also see: Disinfectants, masks, online selection: Hajj 2020 begins amid coronavirus pandemic

Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina undertaken any time of the year, attracting 19 million people last year. Saudi Arabia had instituted a freeze on umrah in March.

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It will now allow 6,000 citizens and residents inside the kingdom to perform umrah daily, representing 30 per cent of a revised capacity of 20,000 that takes into account precautionary health measures, SPA added. That will expand to 75 per cent of capacity on Octember 18.

Also read: Lessons Gulf states have learned from coronavirus pandemic

Beginning November 1, Saudi Arabia will allow visitors from specific countries deemed safe to perform umrah at 100 per cent of the revised capacity, until the end of the pandemic, SPA said.

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This year, Saudi Arabia conducted a limited haj, the larger pilgrimage that usually attracts around 3 million people, for a few thousand citizens and residents.

According the official data, haj and umrah earn the kingdom about $12 billion annually.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia reported 330,798 total cases of coronavirus and 4,542 deaths, as cases in the Gulf region topped 800,000.