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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
World

Saudis to allow 1m at Haj this year

Pilgrims observing social distancing and wearing face masks perform the farewell Tawaf around the holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Mecca during the annual Haj pilgrimage on July 22 last year. In pre-pandemic days the event drew 2.5 million people. (Reuters File Photo)

Saudi Arabia will let up to 1 million people join the Haj pilgrimage this year, greatly expanding the key Muslim event to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of tight Covid restrictions, state media said on Saturday.

Pilgrims to Mecca this year must be under age 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the ministry of Hajj and Umrah said in a statement carried by the SPA news agency. The Haj will be observed from July 7 to 12.

Participants from abroad will be allowed this year but must present a recent negative Covid PCR test, and health precautions will be observed, it said.

Last year, the kingdom limited the annual Haj, one of Islam’s five main pillars, to 60,000 domestic participants, compared to the pre-pandemic 2.5 million.

Visits to the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long Haj, and the lesser, year-round Umrah pilgrimage, previously earned the kingdom about $12 billion a year, according to official data.

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