Saudi Opens Hajj Registration for Foreign Residents

Saudi Arabia on Monday opened the registration of Hajj to foreign residents in the kingdom, saying they will make up 70 percent of the pilgrims after it scaled-back the annual ritual due to coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia has said that it will permit only around 1,000 pilgrims already present in the Kingdom to participate in this year's Hajj, scheduled for the end of July, far from the 2.5 million who attended the five-day pilgrimage last year.

Foreign nationals between 20 and 65 years of age who have no prior health problems, such as diabetes and cardiac disorders, are permitted to register on https:/localhaj.haj.gov.sa., Hajj Ministry said. 

The registration process will be open until Friday, it added.

Saudi residents will make up the remaining 30% of the pilgrims, with the ritual limited to medical practitioners and security forces who have recovered from the infection, the Ministry added.

"They will be selected through the database of those who have recovered from the virus," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Pilgrims will be tested for coronavirus before arrival in the Holy City of Mecca and will be allowed to quarantine at home during the ceremony, according to health authorities.

Last month, Saudi Arabia announced that it would hold a "very limited" Hajj, a decision fraught with political and economic peril in the face of a coronavirus surge.

The decision to exclude pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia is a first in the modern history of the Kingdom and has created outrage among Muslims worldwide, although many have acknowledged it as appropriate due to the health risks involved.

To date, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 213,000 coronavirus infections — the highest in the Gulf — and nearly 2,000 deaths.