Saudi Arabia has announced on Monday that the annual Hajj pilgrimage will be held with “very limited” number of pilgrims due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

The decision has been announced by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj only five weeks to the annual pilgrimage as part of effort to prevent spread of the pandemic infection this year, reported Taqrib News Agency (TNA).
 
The “very limited number” of pilgrims to be permitted for the ceremony remains unknown though the shrinkage is expected to dodge the hopes of many Muslims who had saved for the long-awaited opportunity as well as a blow to the economy of the Arab kingdom whose economy is already low.
 
This is the first limitation on number of pilgrims in the past 90 years since establishment of the modern Saudi Arabia.
 
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the decision made by Saudi Arabia to impose limitation on the number of pilgrims in Hajj 2020, Kuwaiti News Agency (KUNA) has reported.
 
The annual Hajj pilgrimage is traditionally held in Dhu al-Hijjah, twelfth and final month in Muslim lunar calendar and is counted one of the biggest conventions in the world.
 
Hajj makes one of the five pillars of Islam and Muslims who are able to perform the ceremony should take the journey once in a lifetime.