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Saudi Arabia has issued tips for about 1,000 pilgrims who will likely be allowed to carry out the haj pilgrimage in Mecca later this month, an expertise that will likely be in contrast to any earlier than due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The pilgrims will solely be capable to drink holy water from the Zamzam properly in Mecca that’s packaged in plastic bottles, and pebbles for casting away evil that’s often picked up by pilgrims alongside haj routes will likely be sterilized and bagged forward of time. Pilgrims may also need to carry their very own prayer rugs.
The tips had been introduced Monday as Saudi authorities put together for a really restricted haj, which for the primary time won’t embody pilgrims from outdoors the nation. Instead, the dominion mentioned that 70% of pilgrims allowed to make the pilgrimage this yr will likely be from amongst overseas residents of Saudi Arabia and 30% can be Saudi residents.
Saudi pilgrims will likely be chosen from amongst healthcare employees and safety personnel who’ve recovered from Covid-19, the sickness attributable to the virus. The authorities mentioned their choice represents a “token of appreciation for their role in providing care” in the course of the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia has one of many Middle East’s largest outbreaks of the virus, with an infection charges rising by 3,000-4,000 instances each day. More than 213,000 folks have contracted the virus within the kingdom thus far, together with 1,968 who’ve died.
The new tips additionally mandate that the overseas residents making this yr’s pilgrimage must be between the ages of 20 and 50, and that they haven’t carried out the haj earlier than. The pilgrims should quarantine earlier than and after the haj, and they are going to be examined for the coronavirus. Those eligible have till Friday to submit an utility by means of the Haj Ministry’s web site.
Saudi Arabia has dramatically scaled again the haj resulting from considerations about overcrowding on the annual pilgrimage, which often attracts about 2.5 million folks, saying its resolution was aimed toward preserving international public well being.
At the haj, the crowds transfer, pray and stand in extraordinarily shut proximity, typically squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder, as they perform 5 days of rites round Mecca. As a part of the brand new security measures this yr, authorities mentioned anybody taking part within the haj won’t be allowed to the touch the cube-shaped Kaaba, which is Islam’s holiest web site and the metaphorical home of God.
Pilgrims this yr may also need to put on masks, preserve bodily distance throughout prayers and sleep in tents that comply with tips on social distancing.
In different developments within the Middle East, Iran’s well being ministry on Tuesday introduced the very best single-day spike in deaths from coronavirus, with 200 new fatalities. Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari mentioned that was a rise of 40 from Monday when 160 had been reported to have died of Covid-19.
She blamed the spike on giant gatherings for weddings and different ceremonies, the place folks don’t observe distancing laws. Iran on Sunday instituted obligatory mask-wearing even as its public more and more shrugs off the hazard of the virus. Iran has reported greater than 245,000 instances of the virus thus far and 11,931 deaths.
Elsewhere, Israel’s parliament handed an emergency invoice early Tuesday permitting the federal government to bypass the home in making instant selections on combating a renewed outbreak of the coronavirus.
Lawmakers supporting the invoice mentioned it was important, given the fast-spreading nature of the virus, however some opposition lawmakers decried the sidelining of the legislature as one other step in undermining the foundations of Israeli democracy underneath the guise of an emergency.
The Israeli authorities reimposed new restrictions on the general public on Monday, limiting gatherings and ordering reception halls, eating places, bars, theatres, health centres and swimming pools be shut down once more.
Just weeks in the past, Israel had appeared to have contained its preliminary outbreak after imposing strict measures early on within the pandemic. But after reporting only a handful of latest instances a day in early May, it has skilled a gentle uptick following an easing of restrictions. Currently, Israel is reporting upward of 1,000 new instances a day — greater than its peak in the course of the earlier wave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was largely seen as having capably dealt with the outbreak, has suffered in opinion polls extra not too long ago amid the brand new surge and financial penalties of the pandemic. He convened Tuesday a high-profile session that included worldwide economist Stanley Fisher, a former governor of the Bank of Israel.
But a prime well being ministry official stepped down in protest over how Israel was dealing with the most recent uptick in instances. Sigal Sadetsky, who headed the division of public well being providers, mentioned in a prolonged resignation letter that the “handling of the pandemic had lost direction.” Since the beginning of the outbreak, Israel has seen greater than 31,000 instances and 338 deaths.
Meanwhile, the Dubai Financial Market, the sheikhdom’s inventory trade, reopened on Tuesday, when the city-state additionally started welcoming vacationers once more. The market closed mid-March over the pandemic, however buying and selling continued on-line all through the closure.
“We ensured that there is physical distancing between investors and employees’ offices, which is the most important element for safety during this time,” market official Jamal al-Khadhar informed The Associated Press. “There are glass barriers, there are iPads that people can use for any transactions, there’s also a whole setup and sanitizers available and the entire market was sanitized to implement safety measures.”
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