Saudi Arabia will let up to 1 million people join the Haj pilgrimage this year, greatly expanding the key event to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of tight COVID restrictions, state media said on Saturday (Apr 9).
Pilgrims to Mecca this year must be under age 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the ministry of Haj and Umrah said in a statement carried by the SPA news agency.
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 US$12 billion a year, according to official data.
The Haj consists of a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in Islam's holiest city, Mecca, and surrounding areas of western Saudi Arabia.
Hosting the Haj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, as the custodianship of Islam's holiest sites is the most powerful source of their political legitimacy.
Before the pandemic, Muslim pilgrimages were key revenue earners for the kingdom, bringing in some $12 billion annually.
The restrictions in 2020 and 2021 stoked resentment among Muslims abroad who were barred.The kingdom of approximately 34 million people has so far recorded more than 751,000 coronavirus cases, including 9,055 deaths, according to health ministry data.
In early March it announced the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions including social distancing in public spaces and quarantine for vaccinated arrivals, moves that were expected to facilitate the arrival of Muslim pilgrims.
The decision included suspending "social distancing measures in all open and closed places" including mosques, while masks are now only required in closed spaces.
