Makkah reopens for limited 'Umrah' pilgrimage

Makkah: Mask-clad pilgrims circled Islam's holiest site along socially distanced paths on Sunday, as Saudi authorities partially resumed the year-round Umrah pilgrimage with extensive health precautions adopted after a seven-month coronavirus hiatus.

Thousands of worshippers entered the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah in batches to perform the ritual of circling the sacred Kaaba.

The Umrah, the pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time, usually attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe each year but it was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is being revived in three phases, with Saudi Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten saying last week that 6,000 pilgrims per day would be allowed in the first stage to perform the Umrah.

The revered Black Stone in the eastern corner of the Kaaba -- which it is customary but not mandatory to touch during the pilgrimage -- will be out of reach, and the Grand Mosque is to be sterilised before and after each group of worshippers.

Each group of 20 or 25 pilgrims are to be accompanied by a health worker and medical teams will be on the ground in case of an emergency, Benten said.

Thermal sensors have been installed to measure the body temperature of the pilgrims, Makkah authorities said.

Under the second stage from October 18, the number of Umrah pilgrims will be increased to 15,000 per day.

Visitors from abroad will be permitted in the third stage from November 1, when capacity will be raised to 20,000.

A maximum of 40,000 people, including other worshippers, will be allowed to perform prayers at the mosque in the second stage and 60,000 in the third, according to the interior ministry.

It said the Umrah will be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has abated.

Until then, the health ministry will vet countries from which pilgrims are allowed to enter based on the health risks.

Saudi Arabia has had more than 335,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 4,850 deaths.