Saudi limits Umrah to 18−50 years; Austria plans lockdown over virus
RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced new measures for performing Umrah for overseas pilgrims.
According to the new rules shared by the Saudi ministry, the Umrah and other rituals are limited to those aged from 18 to 50 years.
The ministry said that overseas pilgrims must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with vaccines recognised by the Saudi Arabia Health Ministry. The pilgrims had to submit their vaccination certificates to Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry for the issuance of an online pilgrimage visa.
Before traveling, the pilgrims are urged to check their status with authorised travel agents to book their tickets.
The ministry explained that in case a person desires to get an Umrah visa from outside Saudi Arabia, he can communicate with one of the official travel agencies and provide an official vaccine certificate.
The Saudi ministry recently launched two applications, “Eatmarna and Tawakkalna,” to get the permits from outside the kingdom.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that the authorities have decided to limit the issuance of permits to perform Umrah and prayers in the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque for vaccinated people only.
FULL LOCKDOWN: Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout.
Austrians will not be allowed to leave home except to go to work, shop for essentials and exercise. The restrictions will initially last 20 days with an evaluation ater 10 days, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said.
Schools will remain open, although parents have been asked to keep their children at home if possible. Working from home is also recommended.
UAE CASES: On Friday, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) reported 77 new coronavirus cases, along with 93 recoveries and no deaths. MOHAP has announced that 18,803 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were given in the past 24 hours. The total number of doses provided up to Friday stands at 21,665,031 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 219.05 doses per 100 people.
Austria said it in addition to lockdown it would require the whole population to be vaccinated from Feb.1. Both decisions infuriated many in a country where scepticism about state mandates affecting individual freedoms runs high, encouraged by the far-right Freedom Party, the third biggest in parliament.
Party leader Herbert Kickl posted a picture on Facebook with the inscription: “As of today Austria is a dictatorship.” The party is planning a protest on Saturday, but Kickl cannot atend because he has tested positive for COVID-19.
BOOSTER DOSES FOR US ADULTS: The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorised booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for all adults six months ater having been fully vaccinated with the shots from either Pfizer Inc and partner Biontech or Moderna.
The agency’s decision paves the way for millions of Americans to get additional protection. It is also aimed at fighting the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which has driven breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated who can then transmit the virus. Boosters were previously available to the immune compromised, over 65s, people at high risk of severe disease and people in high risk occupations.
Canada’shealthregulatoralsoapprovedpfizer’s kid-size COVID-19 shot on Friday. Health Canada authorised the shots for children ages 5 to 11.
CHRISTMAS SURPRISE: As cases rise again across Europe, a number of governments have started to reimpose limits on activity, ranging from Austria’s full lockdown to a partial lockdown in the Netherlands and restrictions on the unvaccinated in parts of Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The pressure on intensive care units in Germany had not yet reached its peak, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, warning that vaccinations alone will not cut case numbers and urging people to reduce contacts to help break the wave. “How Christmas will turn out, I dare not say. I can only say it’s up to us,” he added.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces a record $490 billion stimulus for the world’s third-largest economy to shore up its patchy pandemic recovery.
The EU’S Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton warns that Bulgaria’s extremely low vaccination rate is “a big risk” to the entire bloc, with only a quarter of its people fully covered.
The Philippines will soon welcome back foreign tourists as it prepares a partial reopening to vaccinated travellers 20 months ater closing its borders to contain the virus.
The first known case of the virus was a woman who worked at a Wuhan market and was days later than originally thought, a top scientist claims. The investigation in the journal Science tips the scale toward an animal origin for the outbreak.
Only the vaccinated and those who have had Covid in the last six months will be allowed into bars, hotels, restaurants and other services, Czech authorities say.