Muslims donning face masks and socially distancing have started arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down Hajj pilgrimage in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 2.5 million pilgrims usually take a look at the Saudi Arabian metropolitan areas of Mecca and Medina for the week-lengthy ritual – a as soon as-in-a-lifetime obligation for each equipped-bodied Muslim who can afford to pay for it.
But this yr as several as 1,000 folks already residing in Saudi Arabia will just take part in the collecting in an hard work to control the spread of COVID-19.
Fairly than praying shoulder to shoulder in a sea of people today from various walks of lifestyle, pilgrims have been standing apart and relocating in modest groups of 20.
In past yrs, it was common to see males pushing their elderly mother and father all-around on wheelchairs in buy to support them comprehensive the Hajj, along with mother and father carrying small children on their backs and persons feeding on alongside one another.
This calendar year, having said that, pilgrims are eating pre-packaged foods by itself in their resort rooms.
For the to start with time in Saudi heritage, the authorities barred Muslims from getting into the kingdom from abroad to carry out the Hajj.
The pilgrims, who were being picked immediately after implementing through an on-line portal, have been required to be in between the ages of 20 and 50, with no terminal sicknesses and displaying no symptoms of the virus.
Desire was supplied to those people who have not performed the Hajj before.
Pilgrims have been tested for coronavirus and provided wristbands that link to their phones and keep an eye on their movement.
They had been expected to quarantine at house and in their resort rooms in Mecca forward of the get started of the journey.
They also need to quarantine for a week following the Hajj concludes on Sunday.
The Saudi govt is masking all the pilgrims’ fees for journey, accommodation, foods and healthcare.
The Hajj is one of Islam’s most essential prerequisites and follows a route the Prophet Mohammed walked just about 1,400 years back.
It is thought to in the long run trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible.
The pilgrimage is meant to provide about bigger humility and unity amid Muslims and it is a journey that followers historically practical experience with family members.
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