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Mecca, Saudi Arabia:
Organising this yr’s scaled-down hajj required “double efforts” by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman mentioned Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgical procedure.
Only as much as 10,000 individuals already residing within the kingdom are taking part on this yr’s pilgrimage, in contrast with 2019’s gathering of some 2.5 million from all over the world.
“Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic… required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts,” 84-year-old King Salman mentioned in a speech learn out on state tv by performing media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.
“The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances,” he mentioned.
The speech got here on the event of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim competition of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day keep for surgical procedure to take away his gall bladder.
The hajj, which started on Wednesday, is likely one of the 5 pillars of Islam and a should for able-bodied Muslims at the very least as soon as of their lifetime.
Authorities applied the “highest health precautions” in the course of the rituals, the king mentioned.
Pilgrims, who had been all examined for the virus, are required to put on masks and observe social distancing.
For Friday’s “stoning of the devil”, the final main ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities provided the pilgrims pebbles that had been sanitised to guard towards the pandemic.
In an indication that its strict measures had been working, the well being ministry reported no coronavirus instances within the holy websites on Wednesday or Thursday.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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