TRAVEL to Saudi Arabia for umrah will be temporarily suspended from January 8 due to the Omicron outbreak, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced today. 

Approval for travel to the Gulf kingdom will also be restricted for the time being, he added.

“Bookings for new flight tickets for umrah travel are suspended from January 1, 2022,” he told reporters at a press conference today.

“Pilgrims leaving for the Holy Land on January 1-7 will be allowed to make their journey.”

They will be required to quarantine when they return to Malaysia.

Starting January 3, pilgrims returning from overseas must isolate at quarantine stations while those coming back today and tomorrow may quarantine at home with prior approval.

As of December 30, nine clusters involving umraah pilgrims were detected,  five of which were confirmed infected with Omicron and one presumptive of the virus variant awaiting whole genomic sequencing results.

A total of 750 or 77.6% of the 966 samples categorised as presumptive positive  for Omicron were from travellers from Saudi Arabia.

Calling the data worrying, Khairy said the government had to act fast to control the situation to save lives.

He said no Muslim minister, including himself, would wish to suspend umrah as they understood the significance of the pilgrimage.

Last year, 1,306 pilgrims returning from Mecca tested positive for the virus.

He said the decision to suspend pilgrimages was made after discussions among several government agencies and ministers and was subsequently approved by the prime minister.

Khairy added that digital trackers would be fitted on returnee pilgrims as well as people arriving from high-risk countries such as the United Kingdom. – January 1, 2022.