Saturday, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that Saudi Arabia will limit this year's Hajj pilgrimage to 60,000 residents and nationals living in the Kingdom. This came due to the current COVID-19 situation in the Kingdom.

The ministry wrote in a post on Twitter “In light of what the whole world is witnessing from the continuing developments of the coronavirus pandemic and the emergence of new mutations, Hajj registration will be limited to residents and citizens from inside the Kingdom only.”

The ministry stressed that those aged between 18 and 65 and are fully vaccinated, have received their first dose at least 14 days prior, or those who are vaccinated and have recovered from a COVID-19 infection are allowed to register.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia has confirmed 463,703 cases and 7,537 deaths.