Saudi Arabia gears up for downsized hajj

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Up to 10,000 people residing in Saudi Arabia will participate in the Muslim Hajj, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million that attended last year.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday begins hosting the annual hajj pilgrimage, dramatically downscaled due to the coronavirus pandemic that has barred millions of international pilgrims for the first time in modern history.

Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 260,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, while the number of declared global infections exceeded 16 million on Sunday. Pilgrims are required to be tested for coronavirus before arriving in Mecca and will also have to quarantine after the pilgrimage. Among the chosen few is Nasser, a Riyadh-based Nigerian expatriate, euphoric at winning what he called the"golden ticket" to hajj.The ministry has said the Saudi pilgrims were selected from a pool of health practitioners and military personnel who have recovered from COVID-19.

The government scaled back the pilgrimage as it could be a major source of contagion, but the move will deepen the kingdom's economic slump, analysts say.

 

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