The great pilgrimage to Mecca maintained for a limited number of faithful

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The new coronavirus pandemic continues to accelerate worldwide. It is in this context of health crisis that Saudi Arabia decided on Monday June 22 to maintain the great Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca at the end of July. The number of faithful will however be very limited.

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Only people of all nationalities "  who are currently inside the  Saudi kingdom " will be able to perform the hajj this year, said the Saudi authorities on Monday.

Until then, Riyadh had maintained uncertainty around the holding of the Mecca pilgrimage, which had attracted more than two and a half million Muslims last year. But in times of coronavirus these figures are bound to be cause for concern. This religious gathering, among the most important in the world, was in danger of turning into an enormous vector of contagion.

Saudi Arabia is already the Gulf country most affected by the Covid-19 and the contamination figures are once again on the rise. With a "limited" hajj this year, the Saudi authorities say they want to "  meet the requirements of prevention and social distancing necessary to ensure the security  " of the faithful, while "  achieving the objectives of Islamic law  ".

However, this pilgrimage adapted to the Covid-19 risk, will weigh heavily on the economy of Saudi Arabia, already hit hard by the fall in oil prices.

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• Saudi Arabia
• Religion
• Coronavirus

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