Saudi Arabia Lifts COVID-Related Restrictions on Hajj

Rabat – Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Umrah and Hajj announced on Monday that all COVID-related restrictions imposed on Muslim pilgrims seeking to perform Hajj rituals will be lifted this year.

In the wake of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saudi Arabia implemented restrictions for three years on the number of pilgrims it receives as well as added an age limit to protect vulnerable pilgrims.

“The number of pilgrims will return to what it was before the pandemic, without any age restrictions.” The Saudi ministry wrote in a Tweet on its official account. The country had previously restricted pilgrims aged above 65 years from performing Hajj rituals.

معالي وزير الحجّ والعمرة د.توفيق الربيعة، يزفّ البشرى في افتتاح “#اكسبو_الحج 2023″:

“أعداد الحجّاج في موسم 1444هـ ستعود كما كانت قبل جائحة كورونا، دون شروط على العمر”.#مكة_والمدينة_في_انتظاركم_بشوق pic.twitter.com/M5ex8cpt5L

— وزارة الحج والعمرة (@HajMinistry) January 9, 2023

Prior to the COVID outbreak, Saudi Arabia received 2.5 million pilgrims in 2019 in what is the world’s largest religious gathering. In 2020, the number dropped to only 1,000, before rising again in 2021 to 60,000 who were all fully vaccinated.

Saudi Arabia has since removed most of the COVID restrictions, including the mandatory proof of vaccination and the proof of a negative test.

Four days prior to the latest announcement, Saudi Arabia issued another Hajj-related announcement saying that in 2023, priority will be given to those who have not performed Hajj rituals before.

The ministry further details that male guardians of female pilgrims are exempt from this rule provided that the woman has not performed Hajj before.

The new rule was announced on Twitter: “Priority is given to those who have not performed Hajj,” the ministry said.

“The Mahram [guardian] of a woman is excluded from this condition if she hasn’t performed Hajj before, and the Mahram has to request an exception,” the minisrty concluded.