Saudi Arabia bans Hajj workers from performing pilgrimage

Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be prohibiting workers who will be volunteering the services to pilgrims from performing the major Islamic rituals in the upcoming Haj pilgrimage, local media reported on Wednesday.

All government and private agencies involved in providing Hajj services should prevent their employees from performing the upcoming Hajj rituals and ensure that this ban is implemented, the Kingdom said.

The Haj rituals will be carried out amid strict measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

For this year’s Hajj, the general presidency assigned nearly ten thousand qualified workers to serve the pilgrims, the Saudi press agency reported.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia said that due to the ongoing COVID-19 and its variants, this year’s Haj performance will be limited to 60,000 citizens and residents in the Kingdom between the ages 18 and 65 years for second year in a row.

This year’s Haj season is likely to begin on July 17. The deadline will be determined after sighting of the new moon.