The Ministry of Umrah and Hajj and affiliate departments managed to cope with the efforts exerted by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, since the outbreak of the pandemic, through taking various administrative as well as sanitary steps and contributing to set a package of programs and initiatives, in accordance with the precautionary measures endorsed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. In this context, the ministry facilitated the return of as many as 450,000 Umrah performers safely to their countries, including dispatching over 60,000 Umrah performers, during the 5-day Eid holiday, in a first such step since the suspension of air flights, in the Kingdom. Around 1500 Umrah performers who have been stranded in the Kingdom, due to the ban on air traffic, in April, have left also, in collaboration with the ministries of foreign affairs, health and interior. Another 40,000 Umrah doers were, in Madinah, have been also helped by the ministry to arrive, in Makkah, to complete their rituals. The ministry played host to about 2000 Umrah doers, failed to go back to their homelands, due to air flights' ban, too.
