Saudi Arabia has pulled off restrictions on the number of devotees for Hajj this year, Arab Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said.
While speaking at the Hajj Expo 2023, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said that the devotees coming for Hajj this year would represent the pre-pandemic level crowd and no age limit will be put on the coming devotees.
In this regard, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah tweeted, “During the opening of #Hajj_Expo 2023, HE Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq AlRabiah announces: ‘Number of Hajj pilgrims in 1444H will return to how it was before the Coronavirus pandemic without age restrictions’.”
According to the Arab news report, around 2.5 million devotees came for the pilgrimage in 2019. However, the number of pilgrims was much less in the initial two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 and 2021.
According to the Arab News, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had earlier on January 5 declared that residents of the kingdom who wanted to perform Hajj this year could submit a pilgrimage application. Four different types of Hajj packages would be offered to locals, according to the government.
The report also defines some conditions for pilgrims to follow to have a valid pilgrim to hajj, they should possess a national or resident identity valid until the middle of July and they also are required to show vaccination for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccination.
Additionally, they must receive an ACYW quadruple meningitis vaccination certificate at least 10 days before visiting the holy places. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia requested that all candidates register directly through the website and refrain from using the same mobile number for several applications.
