Manama: Saudi Arabia will enact a series of stringent measures for this year’s Hajj including limiting the participant to around 10,000 to prevent the spread of deadly coronavirus.
In a joint virtual news conference on Tuesday, Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Muhammad Saleh Benten and Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq al-Rabiah announced the country’s plan for this year's pilgrimage, and the protocols it will enforce to limit the spread of the virus.
Benten said that no pilgrims from outside the Kingdom will be allowed to perform Hajj this year. Strict health criteria will be in place to select eligible pilgrims among citizens and residents. The Saudi Foreign Ministry will coordinate with all diplomatic missions in the Kingdom and they will choose their eligible residents to perform the Hajj, he added.
When asked about the number of pilgrims allowed this year, Hajj Minister said the issue is still under review but that the figure will not exceed 10,000.
To prevent the coronavirus from spreading among participants, the health ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, developed a plan to ensure the safety of all visitors, they said.
Those above 65 years old and people with chronic health conditions would not be allowed to attend the upcoming Hajj, Dr. Al-Rabiah said.
According to the safety protocol, all participants will be tested for coronavirus before they reach the holy sites and that their health will be monitored daily, he added. All workers and volunteers will be tested before the pilgrimage begins. Social distancing measures will strictly be enforced. A hospital has been prepared to address any emergency during the hajj. All pilgrims should be quarantined at home after the Hajj, the minister said.
This year’s Haj is due to start by the end of July. The decision to limit the hajj comes months after the government announced it had halted Umrah.
The Hajj pilgrimage, which is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
On Monday, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that this year’s pilgrimage would be available only to “very limited numbers” of people who are already in the country.
Every year, around 2.5 million Muslims visit the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina, which could make it a possible breeding ground for the disease.
Saudi Arabia saw a spike in coronavirus cases and related-deaths after a relaxation of movement and travel restrictions on May 28. Afterward, the number of cases steadily climbed so that by June, the country was registering between 3,000 to nearly 5,000 cases a day. The country has witnessed a surge in fatalities since May 29, then the number of daily deaths was 16. Now the daily death toll is hovering at 35 per day.
The country has confirmed more than 164,000 cases so far, and the number of deaths has surpassed 1,346, the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
The deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to ravage across the world, infecting more than 9,108,670 people and killing nearly 472,703, according to a tally by John Hopkins University.
