EDITORIAL: Muslims all over the world have one more reason to be happy as authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have successfully resumed the Umrah pilgrimage after a seven-month pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In the first of a three-phase reopening, 6,000 Saudi citizens and residents were allowed back into Islam's holiest sites in Makkah and Medina on October 4. This number is just 30 percent of the 20,000 revised capacity after adjusting for precautionary health measures, especially social distancing. The second phase will see the number of pilgrims extend to 15,000 on October 18. And the final phase will begin on November 1, when local and international worshippers from countries considered safe will be accepted and both Masjid al-Haram and Masjid al-Nabawi will open at full capacity in accordance with the new protective measures. No doubt a lot of hard work and meticulous planning has gone into this reopening and Saudi officials must be credited for meeting a rather tight deadline that they set for themselves.
They have clearly worked out all possible safety measures and are implementing them very seriously. The Masjid al-Haram, which houses the Kaaba, is disinfected 10 times every day. The barricade around the Kaaba and the holy Black Stone remains in place and visitors are not allowed to touch them. Security guards roam among the faithful to make sure that they do not get too close to each other. And quarantine rooms have been prepared for anybody showing even the mildest symptoms of Covid-19. They also launched an online application in September through which visitors can apply for specific times to be picked up from the parking area and be allowed entry into the mosque. That is all very fine, and hopefully all risks have been identified and shall be managed according to the plan, but nobody should forget that Riyadh has decided to go ahead with this experiment at a time when the virus is on the rise pretty much all over the world. KSA itself reported 419 cases just last Saturday, which took the country's total to 325,824 infections and 4,850 deaths, so people going for the Umrah in these circumstances should be very clear that even the smallest violation of safety standards on their part could cause the whole thing to collapse. Expectation of performing the Umrah should, in fact, work nicely for the greater good and encourage people to become that much more conscious of following all safety procedures at all times.
While it is true that the resumption of the Umrah marks a very important turn in KSA's handling of the pandemic, and the government obviously takes all the responsibility that comes with being the custodian of the two holy mosques very seriously, it is also true that Riyadh has been very eager to restart the pilgrimage so it can act as a precursor to reopening of the entire tourism sector. It is an open secret, after all, that the pandemic's effect on oil prices and tourism and hospitality sectors has all but crippled the Kingdom's economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the Saudi economy to contract by close to seven percent this year. And since tourism is one of the key pillars of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reform strategy, which is aimed at reducing the economy's overwhelming dependence on oil, a cautious resumption of religious tourism seems perfectly in line with the overall policy of getting the entire sector up and running as quickly as possible.
If everything goes well and more of the economy reopens the kingdom will begin receiving what used to be a very important component of its foreign exchange reserves once again and at least slow down its steep financial decline. Yet the need to take the greatest care, and make sure that all of the thousands of pilgrims do the same, cannot possibly be stressed enough. In Arabic the word Umrah translates literally as 'visiting a populated place'. And populated and crowded places, precisely like the ones that religious devotees flock to, make for the most natural habitat of the coronavirus.
Phase one of the Umrah resumption process has been successfully completed. The next two will show if their risk management system is secure enough to accommodate far higher numbers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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