Following two years of severe COVID restrictions, Saudi Arabia will let up to one million individuals participate in the Haj pilgrimage this year, significantly opening the main event to participants from outside the country, according to official media on Saturday.
Pilgrims to Mecca this year must be under the age of 65 and completely vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and reported by the SPA news agency. Participants from other countries will be permitted this year but must submit a recent negative COVID PCR test, and health measures will be taken, according to the announcement.
Last year, the monarchy limited the yearly Haj, one of Islam’s five pillars, to 60,000 domestic participants, down from 2.5 million pre-pandemic. According to government figures, visits to the holy sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long haj and the shorter, year-round umrah pilgrimage historically earned the country roughly $12 billion every year.
