It has been officially announced that the number of pilgrims at Hajj this year will be just a thousand from Saudi Arabia. This measure has been taken in the wake of the pandemic. Every year 2.5 million (approx.) participate in the ritual so widely performed by Muslims in the holy city of Makkah. This year however they have brought down the scale to a minimum count in order to mitigate the effects of coronavirus as much as possible.
It is announced by Saudi Arabia officially as well while talking about the pandemic since Saudia had to witness 253349 cases so far and a death toll of 2523. Furthermore, the highest toll will be amongst the Gulf Countries. There will be strict SOPs to be followed by each Haji who has to self-isolate themselves for 14 days in order to counter vulnerability to coronavirus. It is also reported that there will be no involvement of foreigners and only Saudi citizens will be allowed to perform the ritual. This has caused a blow amongst many outsider Muslims but this step was necessary given the situation.
