Cairo: No government official will be allowed to perform this year’s Hajj, a Saudi official has said, as the kingdom has mobilised to ensure a safe scaled-down pilgrimage amid fears of the new coronavirus.
“This year, no government official or a participant in serving the pilgrims will perform the Hajj,” Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Saleh Bin Taher Benten said.
He added that there was no exception in picking the pilgrims attending the downsized Hajj starting later this week.
Last month, Saudi Arabia announced holding this year’s Hajj with a very limited number, confined to Saudis and non-Saudis of all nationalities who are already residing in the kingdom.
“The selection process was carried out with transparency. Health determinants were the basis in selecting the foreign pilgrims inside the kingdom,” Benten said, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to limit the numbers of pilgrims this year complies with objectives of the Islamic Sharia law of protecting human life, he added.
“Organising the Hajj goes along an executive strategic plan and strict health protocols,” Benten said.
Saudi Arabia has announced that 70 per cent of this year’s pilgrims will be expatriate residents while the remaining 30 per cent will be Saudis. The expatriates wishing to perform this year’s Hajj had to meet certain health conditions.
They should not be sufferers of any chronic diseases, and provide a negative PCR test proving that they are free of coronavirus. The applicants should not have previously performed the Hajj, should be aged between 20 to 50 years, and sign a pledge to adhering to the quarantine period before and after performing the Hajj rituals.
The 30 per cent of Saudi pilgrims are limited to Saudi health practitioners and security men who have recovered from COVID-19. They are selected from a database of recovered patients, in recognition of their role during the battle against the virus provided they meet the related health criteria.
The first group of the selected pilgrims arrived Friday evening at the King Abdulaziz international airport in Jeddah coming from the Saudi city of Qassim.
For their safety, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, in cooperation with the airport administration, has designated a specific place for the arriving pilgrims to finalise their procedures and implement preventive measures set by health authorities.
They were later transferred to their residence in the holy city of Mecca where they will stay—each pilgrim in single a well-equipped room—until Dhu Al Hijja 8 when they will head to Mina, starting the Hajj rituals.
