Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s health ministry’s announced that it had detected 4,222 violations of health requirements and precautionary measures during field inspections this Haj season, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The health ministry’s said more than 70 per cent of the violations had been dealt and have been rectified.
The ministry’s teams have deployed across the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah as well as other sites where Haj rituals will be undertaken.
For this year’s Haj, one million worshipers participate after it was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years— 2021 and 2022. In 2019, about 2.5 million pilgrims participated.
The eligible pilgrims this year must be under 65, fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit a negative PCR test result.
Haj is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for all Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey, which takes believers along the path traveled by the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago. Pilgrims spend five days performing a set of rituals aimed at bringing them closer to God.
