The government has instructed that Muslims from India will not travel to Saudi Arabia for Haj 2020 after the kingdom communicated that pilgrims should not be sent this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Tuesday.

The judgment was taken after Saudi Arabia's Haj and Umrah Minister Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten called in last night and proposed not to send pilgrims from India for Haj this year, Naqvi said to the reporters.

Saudi Arabia on Monday said it has halted international visitors from making the Islamic pilgrimage, in a proposition to control the coronavirus pandemic. It said only a very small of people, currently living in the kingdom may take part.

"This decision was taken to ensure haj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective," a Saudi government statement said.

The United Arab Emirates yesterday reported 378 new cases of the COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases to 45,303 in the country.

According to the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, 631 new recoveries were also reported, raising the total number to 33,406. The authority also announced one death, which brought the total deaths to 303 in the country. The total number of active cases in the country is now 11,954.

In a statement, the Dubai Government said, as part of relentless efforts to contain the pandemic, authorities are continuing to increase provision of testing across hospitals and centres.

Saudi Arabia recorded 3,393 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total number to 1,61,005, including 54,523 active cases. According to the Health Ministry, as many as 4,045 patients recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 1,05,175. Forty new deaths were also reported, bringing the death toll to 1,307.