Saudi to allow 1 million pilgrims this Hajj season

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia administration informed that one million pilgrims would be allowed to perform Hajj in 2022. The increase in number will be with respective quotas allocated to each country, and health recommendations will be taken into account, Arab News reported.

The admission for the annual pilgrimage was significantly reduced during the past two years after the pandemic broke out all around the world.

However, the guidelines mandate that pilgrims should be under the age of 65 and must have immunised with vaccines approved by the Kingdom. All those who wish to attend Hajj must produce a PCR negative test taken within 72 hours of the time of departure.

The Kingdom's health ministry said that it aims to allow the maximum number of pilgrims for Hajj this year, keeping the calm public health situation Saudi achieved after the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, the Hajj attendance used to go over 2 million, while it was 58,745 last year.