The departure of Indonesian Umrah pilgrims has been postponed again until 2022. The decision was taken after an appeal from President Joko Widodo or Jokowi and the direction of the Minister of Religion Yaqut Choilil Qoumas so that people do not travel abroad.. This is due to the spread of a new variant of Covid-19, namely Omicron, in a number of countries which is getting crazier.
Quoted from kemenag.go.id. namely Hilman mentions, “Kami tentu mengutamakan aspek perlindungan jemaah di tengah pandemi Covid-19, especially after the new variant of Omicron. Therefore, the departure of the umrah pilgrims was again postponed until the beginning of the year 2022. Kita berharap kondisi segera membaik”.
According to him, In general, the PPIU association supports the government's call to postpone departures abroad. There is disappointment and sadness because the Umrah plan has been long overdue. However, Everyone understands that the pandemic is not over yet, even a new variant appears.
“Ada harapan agar tetap ada pemberangkatan, even if the number is reduced. However, in general, the PPIU association understands and obeys the advice not to go abroad,” terang Hilman. “Harapan lainnya, so that this warning applies to all flight plans abroad, not only umrah,"He continued.
Hilman menyebutkan bahwa “Sebagai regulator dan pengawas penyelenggaraan ibadah umrah, Kemenag terus melakukan koordinasi dengan semua pihak terkait untuk terus mengupayakan terselenggaranya ibadah umrah yang sehat dan aman.”
The maintenance of umrah during the pandemic is also a barometer of the maintenance of the pilgrimage of the year 1443 H/2022 M. “Penundaan ini tentu keputusan yang pahit. But this is done for the common good. We hope that everyone can understand and hopefully there is a lesson from this decision,”Ujar Hilman.
