Hajj Proceeds with Strict Health Protocols
Only 1,000 people are taking part in the five-day hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hundreds of Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social destination to protect themselves against the coronavirus ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. During the first rites of hajj, Muslims circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise seven times while reciting supplications to God, then walk between two hills where Ibrahim\'s wife, Hagar, is believed to have run as she searched for water for her dying son before God brought forth a well that runs to this day.AP Photo
MECCA, WEDNESDAY— Only 1,000 people are taking part in the five-day hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A limited number of people are allowed to take part in this year’s pilgrimage, which carries strict health protocols to prevent Covid-19 transmission.
On Wednesday, after performing tawaf (circumambulating the Kaaba seven times at Masjid al-Haram as a pillar of the hajj) and sai (walking seven times between the Safa and Marwa hills, located next to the Grand Mosque), the pilgrims left for an overnight stay ata Mina. Today (Thursday, 30/7), the pilgrims will return to Arafat to perform wukuf, another pillar of the hajj.