The Saudi health ministry said a coronavirus vaccine is needed to participate in this year’s Hajj.
Saudi Arabia’s health ministry says only people who received the vaccine against COVID-19 will be able to attend the Hajj this year, a Saudi newspaper Okaz said.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is mandatory for those willing to come to the Hajj and will be one of the key conditions (for permission to come),” a report said Monday, citing a circle signed by the health minister. .
Saudi Arabia is proud to defend Islam’s most sacred sites in Mecca and Medina and its smooth organization of the annual Hajj, previously killed by deadly stamps, fires and riots.
In 2020, the kingdom significantly reduced the number of travelers allowed to go to Hajj to about 1,000 Saudi citizens and residents of the kingdom, to help prevent the spread of the crown virus, after banning foreign Muslims from the ceremony for the first time today. times.
Long-distance Muslim pilgrims physically pray near the mountain of Mercy in Arafat at the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on July 30, 2020 [File: AP]
Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every old Muslim who can afford it, is a major source of income for the Saudi government.
A congregation of millions of travelers from all over the world can be a major cause of coronavirus spread. In the past, worshipers have returned home with respiratory and other diseases.
In the same round, Saudi Health Minister Dr Tawfiq al-Rabiah said the government must be willing to “provide the necessary manpower to operate the health facilities in Mecca and Medina”.
These facilities will be located at entry points for travelers, he said, as well as creating a vaccination committee for travelers within Saudi Arabia.