Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday the arrival of pilgrims to the new King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from the country’s five cities for the annual Hajj.
According to the Hajj and Umrah Ministry, the pilgrims arrived on Saturday from Madina, Riyadh, Abha, Tabuk and Jazan with tight health procedures, the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Kingdom has decided to limit the current Hajj season to domestic pilgrims, of whom expats of 160 nationalities account for 70 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.
Throughout the Hajj season, there would be comprehensive coordination between concerned organizations for the safety of pilgrims, the Ministry’s undersecretary for Hajj Affairs Hussain Al Shareef said.
As of Sunday, Saudi Arabia has reported a total of 264,973 COVID-19 cases, with 2,703 deaths.
This is not the first time Saudi Arabia has restricted participation in the pilgrimage.
Between 2014 and 2016, Muslim faithful from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and several other African countries were excluded from the Hajj due to Ebola.
The Hajj represents an important source of income, typically generating between $5.3 billion and $6.9 billion for the local economy, according to Makkah’s chamber of commerce.
In 2019, nearly 2.5 million Muslims performed the Hajj, including more than 600,000 Saudis, according to official figures. The annual pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, which every Muslim must perform at least once if his or her physical and economic state allow.