SAUDI ARABIA SAYS COVID VACCINE NEEDED FOR HAJJ PILGRIMS

Tue 02 March 2021:

Saudi Arabia has announced that Muslims wanting to visit Makkah for the annual Hajj pilgrimage will need to provide proof that they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, Saudi Okaz newspaper reports.

“Vaccination would be the main condition for participation,” Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah is reported to have said.

His ministry did not specify whether this year’s Hajj season, which is due to begin on 17 July, will be affected by the new regulation.

In 2020, the Hajj was limited to just 1,000 pilgrims who lived in Saudi Arabia, as part of the kingdom’s efforts to combat coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia started its vaccination programme on 17 December, with the Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs approved for use.

So far, Saudi officials say there have been 377,700 cases of coronavirus and the kingdom has reported some 6,500 coronavirus related fatalities.

Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey and can support their family during their absence. This year, it will take place between July 17 and 22.

At the time, Al Jazeera reported some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world annually flocked to the cities of Mecca and Medina for the week-long ritual which was scheduled to begin in late July.