From Saturday, Saudi Arabia will begin the Hajj season, which will be limited to Saudi Arabia residents who have taken all their vaccinations against COVID-19. 

International travelers will be excluded for the second year in a row. 

By doing so, the Kingdom seeks to repeat the successful experience of last year, which did not witness an outbreak of the virus during the five-day rituals.

60,000 vaccinated citizens and residents will participate in this year's Hajj season, which is more than the 2020 Hajj, but much less than the regular Hajj seasons.

In 2019, about 2.5 million Muslims from around the world participated in the Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Earlier this month, the Saudi Hajj Ministry said it was following the "highest levels of health precautions" in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its new variants.

The ministry said that the ages of the pilgrims should range between 18 and 65 years, and that the applicants to perform the annual rituals should not have chronic diseases.

The participants were selected from among 558,000 applicants, according to an electronic audit system.

These measures were implemented for fear that the pilgrimage  would constitute a major source of transmission of infection, especially in light of the high number of infections in various parts of the world.

Besides implementing strict social distancing measures, the ministry said it will introduce a "smart Hajj card" to allow pilgrims to reach camps and hotels without human contact and transport them in the holy areas.

It explained that the card will also help in tracing any pilgrims who have lost contact with them.

The authorities have started using black and white robots to distribute bottles of blessed Zamzam water to ensure social distancing.