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Saudi to allow non-nationals to attend Hajj

May 10, 2021 at 4:55 pm

Muslim worshippers seen in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia on 4 October 2020 [Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umra/AFP/Getty Images]

Saudi Arabia will organise the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah this year, but under special conditions to guard against the spread of COVID-19, state TV reported yesterday.

“The mechanism and conditions for holding the Hajj this year will be announced later,” it said, citing the Ministry of Hajj and Pilgrimage.

In 2020, Saudi Arabia allowed only 10,000 pilgrims to perform Hajj, compared to about 2.5 million people who performed the ritual in 2019.

Authorities have previously conditioned the completion of lesser pilgrimage , Umrah, on people being immunised against COVID-19.

READ: Saudi Arabia mulls barring foreign pilgrims from Hajj