The biggest rites of pilgrimage since the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic have been officially launched as pilgrims perform the “tawaf of arrival” around the Kaaba in Al-Mukarrama Mecca.

This year, Saudi Arabia allowed one million pilgrims who received the Corona virus vaccine to perform the Hajj this year, including 850,000 people who arrived from abroad, after two years of a significant reduction in the number of pilgrims due to the epidemic.
Participants were selected from millions of applicants. This year’s event is only for Muslims under the age of 65 who have been vaccinated against the virus. Those arriving from overseas must present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours prior to travel.

This year, the pilgrimage, whose participants were chosen by lottery, is much larger than in the previous two seasons in 2020 and 2021, but still smaller than usual.
In 2019, about 2.5 million Muslims from around the world participated in the annual Hajj rituals, but then the outbreak of the Corona virus forced the Saudi authorities to significantly reduce the number of pilgrims: several thousand in 2020.

Today, Thursday, the pilgrims will travel to Sha’ar Mina, about five kilometers from the Grand Mosque, before the main ritual, which is the ascent of Mount Arafat.