Saudi Arabia on Monday said that because of the coronavirus, only limited numbers of people will be allowed to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The Saudi kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj stated that only people from various nationalities already residing in the country along with the Saudi nationals will be allowed to perform the pilgrimage.
The Government, however, has not specified the number of people who would be permitted to take part in the annual pilgrimage.
Hajj, set to begin at the end of July, has never been cancelled in the nearly 90 years.
The government made such the decision keeping in mind Saudi Arabia having one of the highest rates of coronavirus infections in the Middle East, with more than 161,000 total confirmed cases and 1,307 deaths.