THE approval process for advertising umrah packages was suspended yesterday, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture said in a statement today.

The ministry said the suspension was because the flight date, which is mandatory in umrah adverts, could not be determined following the government’s decision to suspend travel umrah travel to Saudi Arabia with the emergence of the Omicron variant.

In a press conference on January 1, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the government had taken the step in light of increasing Covid-19 positive cases among umrah pilgrims.

The suspension was following concerns that pilgrims were not obeying home quarantine procedures and spreading the infection to family members.

“The ministry is working to find the best solution in mitigating the impact on umrah operators registered with the ministry,” the statement read.

According to the ministry, it will work with the National Disaster Management Agency, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and tour and travel associations to improve umrah standard operating procedures.

On January 6, Khairy said the MOH found that 17 of the 122 people infected with the Omicron variant as of January 4, were found to have no Covid-19 vaccination record. – Bernama, January 9, 2022.