Saudi Arabia has increased the Hajj pilgrimage limit in the country to one million compared to last year’s 60,000 domestic pilgrims.
To combat the coronavirus pandemic, attendance at the Islamic event was drastically reduced in the past two years due to travel restrictions.
As per the latest notice, Pilgrims must be under the age of 65 and have received COVID-19 vaccinations that have been approved by the Saudi health ministry.
All pilgrims must present a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test report within three days (72 hours of departure time).
The move intends to accommodate the greatest number of pilgrims to perform Hajj while retaining the Kingdom’s health improvements in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the ministry.
Furthermore, the directives noted that the expansion will be based on the quotas decided for nations that will follow the Kingdom’s mandatory health recommendations.
As per the official figures, 58,745 pilgrims performed Hajj in 2021. The number of Hajj pilgrims often surpassed the two million count before the Covid-19 outbreak.
