Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it will allow a drastically scaled-back Hajj pilgrimage for around 1,000 pilgrims already present in the kingdom, as it battles a coronavirus surge.
The reduced number is a far cry from the 2.5 million who attended the five-day ritual last year, and it remains unclear what the selection process will be for this year’s Hajj, scheduled for the end of July.
“The number of pilgrims will be around 1,000, maybe less, maybe a little more,” Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten told reporters in Riyadh.
“The number won’t be in tens or hundreds of thousands” this year, he added.
The pilgrimage will be limited this year to those below 65 years of age and with no chronic illnesses, Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah said.
The pilgrims will be tested for coronavirus before arriving in the Holy City of Makkah and required to quarantine at home after the ritual, Rabiah added.
The UAE Hajj Affairs Office (HAO), announced on Tuesday that it will not participate in the 1441 H/ 2020 AD Haj season, following Saudi Arabia’s decision, whereby, a very limited number of pilgrims who already reside in Saudi Arabia, would be able to perform it.
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