Elderly and High-Risk Indonesian Pilgrims in Madinah Advised Against Overexertion

The Head of Sector 5 Madinah, Elfi Ryani, has appealed to second-wave Indonesian Hajj pilgrims not to force themselves to participate in various additional activities while in Madinah. According to her, the majority of pilgrims arriving now have just completed the peak Hajj rituals in Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina (Armuzna), so their physical condition requires recovery time. “For city tours, we suggest not excessively joining city tours or worship. The worship to pursue the Arbain is not recommended, especially for the elderly and high-risk pilgrims,” Elfi Ryani told Media Center Haji (MCH) reporters at the Mirage Taiba Hotel, Madinah, on Tuesday (9/6/2026). Elfi explained that the reception process for second-wave pilgrims in Sector 5 is fundamentally no different from the first wave. However, there has been a policy change in room placement that is considered to make services faster and more effective. “Usually, room plotting comes from Siskohat, but this time room plotting was handed over to the respective sectors, making it faster,” she said. She added that room assignments were even completed before the pilgrims arrived at the Hijrah Terminal heading to their respective hotels. According to Elfi, the experience of serving pilgrims during the first wave serves as significant capital to improve service quality. One innovation that has been maintained is placing name identities on each room to facilitate the pilgrim placement process. “The advantage in Sector 5 is that from the first wave, we have been orderly in plotting rooms by giving names to each room,” she said. This system allows pilgrims to head directly to their designated rooms without confusion upon arriving at the hotel. Regarding city tour activities that are popular among pilgrims, Elfi stressed that every activity outside the hotel must obtain permission from the sector. Her team will first check the participant list, particularly to ensure there are no elderly or high-risk pilgrims who might experience health problems. “For city tours, it is mandatory to apply for permission from the respective sectors. We must check who is joining, including whether they are elderly or not, and whether they are high-risk or not,” she said.