Saudi Arabia considers cancelling hajj this season, reports say
Saudi Arabia is considering cancelling the gross annual hajj pilgrimage this season as a result of coronavirus outbreak, according to reports.
The hajj, that involves travelling to the holy city of Mecca, is a mandatory ritual for all observant Muslims who are able the trip and physically complete the journey to the Arabian Peninsula.
One of the most significant religious gatherings on the planet, the hajj draws about 2 million people to Saudi Arabia each year.
However, following postponement of different major events just like the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Saudi officials possess confronted pressure to cancel this year’s hajj to greatly help support the spread of COVID-19, reports said.
Officials are considering different scenarios and a good “decision will be produced within seven days,” a good senior official from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah ministry said.
This year’s hajj is supposed to occur from July 29 to August 4, but Saudi Arabia has yet to lift the international travel ban implemented on May 20. Various other countries have previously declined to give pilgrims this year.
The kingdom experienced a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths soon after loosening lockdown measures, studies claimed.
Saudi Arabia has reported a lot more than 119,000 confirmed circumstances of COVID-19 and 893 deaths, according to info from Johns Hopkins University.
A cancellation of the hajj could put even more economic pressure on a nation even now reeling from the drop in essential oil demand brought after by the pandemic. Those producing the pilgrimage were expected to generate USD 12 billion for the kingdom.
