"The decision made by the government of Saudi Arabia, of course, must be followed. However, effective dissemination must also be carried out," the Religious Affairs Ministry's director general of Hajj and Umrah, Hilman Latief, said in a written statement released by the ministry here on Monday.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia had announced that the 2022 Hajj will be opened for foreign pilgrims under several conditions.
One of the conditions is that the pilgrims must be a maximum of 65 years in age and have received a full dose of a COVID-19 vaccination approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health.
Next, pilgrims traveling from abroad must have a certificate showing a negative result for a PCR test taken no more than 72 hours prior to departure.
The Indonesian government is still waiting for an announcement from the government of Saudi Arabia regarding the Hajj pilgrim quota for each country.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs is also communicating with the government of Saudi Arabia to get certainty concerning the quota.
"Information regarding the quota is still waiting for an official announcement from the Saudi Arabian government," he noted.
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Latief affirmed that while waiting for the announcement of the Hajj quota, the government has continued to finalize preparations for organizing Hajj services in the country.
"Currently, we are in the process of entering (data on) passports for e-Hajj," he said.
Deputy chair of Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR), Diah Pitaloka, urged the government to continuously monitor the health of prospective Hajj pilgrims as the pilgrimage will be carried out amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We ask the government to supervise and monitor its preparation and implementation fully and provide vitamins for pilgrims to maintain their stamina during the pilgrimage," she said.
Related news: Ministry urges associations to help disseminate Hajj requirements
Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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