Muslims began their first pilgrimage ritual for Hajj during the pandemic inside the Mecca Grand Mosque on Wednesday, with “security bubbles” and strongly distanced social procedures in place to further protect the faithful from the spread of the coronavirus. the Saudi health ministry told CNN.
Around 1,000 Muslim worshipers started the Tawaf Al-Qudum, or the Tawaf of Arrival, which is the initial ritual that is performed by entering the Great Mosque of Mecca and surrounding the holiest shrine in Islam, the Ka’aba , according to a statement from the Saudi Ministry of Media.
Saudi Arabia’s health ministry faces the task of ensuring that those chosen for this year’s pilgrimage are free of coronaviruses, and also applies measures of social distancing within the different rituals associated with Hajj, Deputy Deputy Minister for Preventive Health of the Saudi Arabian Health Ministry, Dr. Abdullah Assiri told CNN in an interview on Wednesday.
“There are some Hajj rituals that we really can’t separate [the pilgrims] because they have to be in one place at a time, so we had to prepare these places in a way that maintains social distance and also make personal protective equipment available for these places, “said Dr. Assiri.
Considered one of the five pillars of Islam, the Muslim ritual has welcomed more than two million people in recent years, but after the coronavirus outbreak, the Saudi authorities were forced to ban international visitors who wish to perform the There is this year.
Ministries began preparing for the reduced Hajj in February and after selecting 1,000 pilgrims, Saudis, and foreign residents of the Kingdom, between the ages of 20-50. They enforced a quarantine 14 days before Hajj, tested them, provided training on social distancing and monitored, according to Assiri.
“We are trying to apply the concept of security bubbles, where each pilgrim will have an environment around him that is as free and safe as possible from any type of danger, so all Hajjis need is their personal protection for their products Hygiene is provided free of charge, “he said.
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