Saudi Arabia has legalized the number of pilgrims in the past two years
Saudi Arabia said that it will allow up to one million people to perform the Hajj rituals this year, from inside and outside the Kingdom, in a significant increase in the number of people allowed to perform the rituals after two years of strict restrictions due to the Corona virus.
Official media quoted the authorities as saying that pilgrims must be under 65 years old and fully vaccinated against the virus.
Last year, only sixty thousand people, Saudis and resident foreigners, were allowed to perform the rituals.
In the years prior to the epidemic, Saudi Arabia received about two and a half million Muslims from all over the world during the Hajj season.
But after the outbreak of the Corona virus in 2020, Saudi Arabia allowed only 1,000 people from inside the kingdom to perform the rituals, before the number was raised the following year to sixty thousand of the entire restaurant, who were chosen by lottery.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said in a statement, “It was decided to raise the number of pilgrims for the Hajj season this year to one million pilgrims from inside and outside the Kingdom, according to the quotas allocated to countries, taking into account health recommendations.”
The Ministry of Hajj has set regulations stipulating that “this year’s Hajj is for the age group under 65 years, with the requirement to complete immunization with basic doses of Covid-19 vaccines approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health.”
The authorities required pilgrims from outside the Kingdom to submit a negative coronavirus test result for a sample taken within 72 hours before the departure date. And she stressed the need for pilgrims to adhere to precautionary measures and follow preventive instructions during the performance of their rituals “in order to preserve their health and safety.”
An Egyptian employee, Mohamed Tamer, 36, told AFP: “For two years we have been living in great sadness and pain because of the small number of pilgrims. The scene was difficult.”
He added, “I am very happy that the pilgrimage will return to some extent naturally,” but he expressed his fear that “the prices of Hajj this year will be exaggerated” due to the prices of travel cards and hotel accommodation, which may prevent him from performing the rituals.
A number of Muslims complained about the imposition of a coronavirus (BCR) examination prior to travel, which one of them said might cause the travel to be canceled if it had a positive result after paying the exorbitant Hajj expenses, according to AFP.
The epidemic caused the kingdom to lose a major source of revenue, as Saudi Arabia earns about $12 billion annually from Umrah and Hajj. The epidemic has also hampered the Kingdom’s plans to transform into a tourist country as part of a strategy to diversify the economy to stop reliance on oil.
The Kingdom began issuing tourist visas for the first time in 2019 as part of this strategy. Between September 2019 and March 2020, 400,000 tourist visas were issued.
The kingdom slowly reopened its doors at the beginning of 2021, and began welcoming vaccinated foreign tourists in August.
And Saudi Arabia had closed the Grand Mosque in March 2020, then reopened it to pilgrims under strict procedures in July, before, after three months, allowing all Muslims to pray in it with a limited capacity and distance during prayers.
And last October, the mosque returned to receive worshipers at its full capacity and without any distancing, although face masks are still mandatory.
The Kingdom, with a population of about 34 million people, has recorded more than 751,000 cases of coronavirus, including 9,055 deaths, according to Ministry of Health data.
In early March, Saudi Arabia announced the lifting of most restrictions, including social distancing in public places and quarantine for vaccinated arrivals.