King Salman said the authorities implemented “the highest health precautions” during the rituals.
Mecca, Saudi Arabia:
Organizing reduced hajj this year required “a double effort” from Saudi authorities amid coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said on Friday after being released from hospital after gallbladder surgery .
Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are taking part in this year’s pilgrimage, compared to 2.5 million people from around the world gathered in 2019.
“Keeping the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic … has required reducing the number of pilgrims, but it has forced various official agencies to redouble their efforts,” King Salman, 84, said in a speech read on public television by Acting Media Minister Majid Al-Qasabi.
“This year’s hajj has been limited to a very limited number of people of multiple nationalities, ensuring that the ritual is completed despite the difficult circumstances,” he said.
The speech was delivered on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim feast of sacrifice, a day after the king left the hospital after a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gallbladder.
The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a staple for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
The authorities implemented the “highest health precautions” during the rituals, the king said.
Pilgrims, who have all been tested for the virus, must wear masks and observe social distancing.
For Friday’s “stoning of the devil”, the last major ritual of the hajj, the Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that have been disinfected to protect themselves from the pandemic.
A sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no cases of coronavirus in holy places on Wednesday or Thursday.
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