Dubai: Saudi Arabia said Monday that this year's hajj will not be cancelled, but that due to the coronavirus only "very limited numbers" of people will be allowed to perform the major Muslim pilgrimage.
The kingdom said that only people of various nationalities already residing in the country would be allowed to perform the hajj.
The annual pilgrimage, which is set to begin this year at the end of July, traditionally draws around 2 Saudi Arabia has never canceled the hajj in the nearly 90 years since the nation's establishment.
It halted the minor umrah pilgrimage, which can be performed year-round, in February, as the coronavirus began spreading across the region.