Saudi Arabia considers cancelling Haj this year

Scenarios include cutting pilgrim quota drastically as cases rise

Saudi Arabia’s authorities are considering cancelling the Haj season for the first time since the establishment of the Kingdom in 1932, after the number of coronavirus infections exceeded 100,000, a senior official in the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah told the British newspaper Financial Times.

“The case has been carefully studied and various scenarios are being considered. A formal decision will be taken within a week,” the official said.

The pilgrimage, which is scheduled for late July this year, is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, with more than two million pilgrims visiting the Kingdom to perform Islamic rituals.

Saudi Arabia could consider drastically cutting the number of pilgrims arriving for Haj.

Seven consecutive days

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported yesterday 3,921 new coronavirus infections, surpassing the 3,000-mark for seven consecutive days, the ministry of health said. This is the highest ever daily cases since the outbreak, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 119,942.

Bahrain’s ministry of health announced 600 new cases yesterday, pushing the total number of infections to 17,269.

Kuwait has recorded 520 new cases over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 34,952, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA said yesterday.

The health ministry also reported six more deaths, taking the total fatalities to 285.

Oman has recorded 1,117 new cases, bringing the total to 21,071, the Omani news agency ONA reported yesterday.

Six more deaths were reported, raising Oman’s total of such fatalities to 96.