Pilgrims Head to Arafat to Perform Hajj

The pilgrims have started arriving in the plains of Arafat to perform Hajj.

All the necessary preparations have been completed by the Saudi Health Ministry to provide medical care to pilgrims who will today gathered on Mount Arafat to perform the pinnacle of the Haj pilgrimage, the ninth day of Dhu Al Hijjah.

Moreover, security measures have been put in place to protect the pilgrims, as well as the precautions against the coronavirus.

[caption id="attachment_140469" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Pilgrims gather on Mount Arafat[/caption]

Hajj 2020 amid Coronavirus concerns

This year only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in the ritual, due to COVID-19, according to France 24.

Around 70 percent of pilgrims are foreign nationals residing in the kingdom and 30 percent are locals.

The pilgrims will be required to wear masks and maintain social distancing during hajj rites that is performed over five days in the holy city of Mecca and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

Those selected to take part in the hajj were subject to temperature checks and placed in quarantine as they began heading to Mecca at the weekend.

State media showed health workers sanitizing their luggage, and some pilgrims reported being given electronic wristbands to allow authorities to monitor their whereabouts.

Workers, clutching brooms, and disinfectant, were seen cleaning the area around the Kaaba, the structure at the center of the Grand Mosque draped in gold-embroidered cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.

Hajj authorities have cordoned off the Kaaba this year, saying pilgrims will not be allowed to touch it, to limit the chances of infection.

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