Coronavirus: Hajj is starting in Makkah on a limited scale
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Due to the coronavirus epidemic, this year's Hajj is starting to be limited in Saudi ArabiaThe annual Hajj, which starts on Wednesday, is expected to be attended by 10,000 people. |
Authorities said 30 percent of the
participants were Saudi nationals and 70 percent were Saudi expatriates.
Hajj is one of the 'obligatory' Hajj
of Islam in Saudi Arabia with the participation of 2.5 million Muslims every
year during Eid-ul-Adha.
Due to the epidemic, Saudi Arabia has
banned anyone from entering Mecca from other countries. However, a limited
number of citizens of different countries residing in the country are getting
the opportunity to participate in these religious ceremonies.
This time the epidemic of Kovid-19
left this formality of Islam in uncertainty.
The Saudi government has also stopped
offering prayers at the Kaaba after an outbreak of the coronavirus in Saudi
Arabia.
Those who are getting the opportunity
to take part in this Hajj have been tested for body temperature and virus as
soon as they arrive in Makkah. Participants must also be in quarantine before
and after the start of the Hajj.
In an interview with Saudi-funded Al
Arabiya television earlier this week, Saudi Hajj Minister Mohammed Saleh Bintan
said participants had to stay in quarantine at their homes before staying in a
four-day quarantine at a hotel in Mecca.
Due to the epidemic, the National
Disease Prevention and Control Authority of Saudi Arabia has issued special
hygiene rules for this year's Hajj.
According to the rules, Hajj pilgrims
cannot kiss or touch the Kaaba and black stones and must use pre-sterilized
packaged stones to throw stones at the devil.
Hajj pilgrims and those in charge of
Hajj must wear a safety mask and put it in a specific place after use.
Hajj pilgrims should keep a distance of at least one and a half meters between the two wherever they gather.
According to a report in the Saudi
Gazette, entry into the holy sites of Mina, Muzdalifah, and Arafat for Hajj
without a Hajj permit will be banned from July 19 (27th Zilqad) to the 12th day
of the 12th Hajj.
According to the Covid-19 dashboard of
Johns Hopkins University in the United States, the number of Covid-19 patients
identified in Saudi Arabia as of 9:30 a.m. local time in Bangladesh on
Wednesday was 270,631 and 269 people have died so far.
Saudi Arabia has been under lockdown
for three months in a row to control the coronavirus outbreak. At that time, a
24-hour curfew was imposed in most cities in the country.
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