"The government must properly conceive the arrangement plan to prevent any issues from arising during its execution," Mattalitti noted in a press statement received here, Friday.
The government should procure Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson vaccine brands for administering booster jabs to prospective umrah pilgrims, as the Saudi authority only recommended the four vaccine brands, while most Indonesians had been administered the Sinovac vaccine, he stated.
"The authority must pay attention to the vaccine requirements, as it is a prerequisite for umrah pilgrims' admittance to Saudi Arabia," Mattalitti said.
Related news: COVID-19 task force to monitor departure, return of umrah pilgrims
The Umrah pilgrimage amid the COVID-19 pandemic will be starkly different from the earlier ones on account of the terms, as pilgrims must fulfil additional requirements to prove a good health and undergo new procedures upon their arrival and religious ritual to prevent COVID-19 infection.
"Proper arrangement and complete discipline are required for a smooth implementation involving the pilgrims," he noted.
Mattalitti deemed those measures as crucial to ensure a safe, healthy, and convenient pilgrimage while preventing the congregation from turning into a COVID-19 infection cluster.
"We must remain vigilant to thwart a potential third wave of COVID-19 from occurring anytime by properly arranging the umrah pilgrim procedure right from the departure process until their arrival back to Indonesia," Mattalitti said.
He expects Indonesian Muslims enthusiastic for performing umrah to be patience as the government had allocated the first pilgrimage departures for umrah and hajj travel owners and operators to enable them to learn about the new procedures for the umrah pilgrimage during the pandemic. (INE)
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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