No foreign pilgrims will be able to attend this year's hajj. Saudi Arabia's leading religious council has decided that protecting the population is the most important goal.
Around 60,000 vaccinated Saudi Arabian residents will be able to attend this year's hajj pilgrimage in July, organizers announced Saturday.
This is the second year in a row the Mecca event has been affected by fears of COVID-19, although Saudi Arabia is now one of the most highly vaccinated countries in the world.
The Muslim faith requires believers to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives if they are able to.
What is the hajj?
The hajj is a five to six day religious pilgrimage which Muslims believe retraces the footstephs of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as those of prophets Ibrahim and Ismail.
Pilgrims practice a number of rituals and rites at locations around Mecca.
It is one of the five pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah, Salat, Zakat and Sawm, as well as a demonstration of submission to Allah.
Every year, over 1 million pilgrims aged 18 to 65 years travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
This year, however, attendance will be limited to 60,000 Muslim residents of the kingdom who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and those born in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country.
What have the authorities said?
The Senior Scholars′ Council said the move to limit attendees is aimed at protecting people, calling the decision "good and responsible" and in line with Sharia law.
"Specialists have decided that gatherings are considered the main reason for transmission of [the COVID-19] infection and that limiting these gatherings is the best solution," the council said, according to the state Saudi Press Agency.
"The decision [was made] to guarantee the safety of hajj amid uncertainty over the coronavirus," the kingdom's health minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah said during a televised press conference.
"Despite the availability of [a] vaccine, there is uncertainty over the virus and some countries still record high numbers of COVID cases. The other challenge is the different variants of the virus, hence the decision to restrict hajj," al-Rabiah added.
Since December, Saudi Arabia has distributed around 15 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to its people.