Muslim pilgrims began arriving in Mecca on Saturday for the second downsized hajj taking part under Covid-19 restrictions, with just 60,000 fully-vaccinated residents of Saudi Arabia able to take part. Applicants had to be fully vaccinated and not suffer from any chronic illness, the hajj ministry said. The hajj ministry has said it is working on the 'highest levels of health precautions' in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new variants. Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including some 8,000 deaths. The hajj ministry received anguished queries on Twitter from rejected applicants about the tightly-controlled government lottery.

Source: The Nation July 18, 2021 09:22 UTC