Saudi to allow 60,000 vaccinated residents to perform Hajj

June 13,2021
AFP: Pilgrims from Bangladesh and other countries will not be able to perform the annual Hajj for the second conservative year as the Saudi Arabian authorities have barred all overseas pilgrims due to the Covid pandemic.

The Saudi authorities said that they would allow 60,000 vaccinated residents of the country to perform the religious duties, reported Agence France-Presse on Saturday.

Such a move would restrict the pilgrimage from overseas to the holy land, a once in a lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it, according to the report.
State minister for religious affairs Faridul Haque Khan told New Age that the Saudi authorities informed Bangladesh Saturday afternoon that they would not allow overseas pilgrims this year like the past year.
Some 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world usually flock annually to the cities of Mecca and Medina for the week-long hajj rituals.

Overseas pilgrims in the annual hajj, one of the five  pillars of Islam, were barred for the first time in the past year due to the Covid outbreak as only about 10,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom were allowed to perform the hajj.
The state minster said that around 61,000 people in Bangladesh were registered for performing the hajj and they had also deposited money.
‘We were optimistic that 10,000-20,000 people from Bangladesh might be allowed for the hajj this year. We were taking preparations for that and started vaccination of some registered people,’ said Faridul.
Around 1.27 lakh pilgrims from Bangladesh attended the hajj in 2019.

Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday it would allow 60,000 vaccinated residents of the kingdom to perform the annual hajj, state media reported.

The pilgrimage, scheduled to be held at the end of July, would be limited to those who have been vaccinated and are below 65 years of age with no chronic illnesses, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
In a relaxation of coronavirus curbs in October 2020, Saudi Arabia opened the Grand Mosque for prayers for the first time in seven months and partially resumed the all-year-round umrah pilgrimage.
The limit on umrah pilgrims is 20,000 a day, with a total of 60,000 worshippers allowed to perform daily prayers at the mosque.
The umrah usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year.
Authorities said that the umrah would be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has abated.
The revered Black Stone in the Kaaba — which is customary but not mandatory to touch during the pilgrimage — remains out of reach.
Courtesy: Daily New Age, Bangladesh