Hajj (pilgrimage), the annual pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca), in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the world. The fifth pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, where millions of Muslims from around the world visit Mecca and Medina every year during Hajj season for a week. In 2019, over 2,400,000 pilgrims attended Hajj.
The kingdom had suspended all Umrah pilgrimages in March to curb the spread of Covid-19, with phase 1 of the Ministry of Hajj & Umrah’s four-stage resumption plan allowing local citizens and residents to return from 4 October.
Hajj has never been cancelled since the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was founded in 1932. It was held during the 2009 pH1N1 and 2013 Middle East respiratory syndrome (shortly, MERS) crisis with advisories for people at high risk to voluntarily abstain, and during the successive Ebola outbreaks that excluded pilgrims from affected countries through visa restrictions.
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The Saudi government recognized the potential risks associated with this event since the first novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case was detected in the country on March 2, 2020. The return of possibly infected pilgrims to their countries after this huge mass gathering event could have turned Hajj into a superspreading event during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In July 2020, the kingdom begins hosting the annual hajj pilgrimage, dramatically downscaled due to the coronavirus pandemic that has barred millions of international pilgrims for the first time in modern history. Up to 10,000 people residing in the kingdom participated in the Muslim ritual. They were subject to temperature checks and placed in quarantine, authorities said.
A multidisciplinary Saudi team from governmental sectors, including the Global Center for Mass Gatherings Medicine, shared in the assessment, planning, execution, and success of this holy event to prevent the spread of disease.
Mask-clad pilgrims were given elaborate amenity kits that include sterilised pebbles for a stoning ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and the ihram, a seamless white garment worn by pilgrims, according to a hajj ministry programme document.
Pilgrims aged 18-50 years were permitted, and they must provide a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examination certificate with a negative result received within 72 hours before the time of departure to the kingdom. Pilgrims must also have a prior reservation to perform Umrah and prayers in the Grand Mosque and to visit other holy sites.
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Saudi Arabia has received about 100,000 pilgrims from abroad after the resumption of Umrah service for foreign pilgrims since last Nov. 1, according to officials of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
Umrah is a smaller Islamic ritual than Hajj and is performed year-round. Umrah involves piligramages to the Great Mosque of Makkah (Al Masjid al Haram) and an optional visit to the Prophet’s Mosque of Madinah (Al Masjid an Nabawi), whereas Hajj occurs during specific days each year and involves many rituals including piligrimages to the 2 previously mentioned mosques and other rituals in sacred places such as Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifa.
The restart of the Islamic Umrah pilgrimages for international pilgrims and the gradual ramp-up of commercial flights spur an increase in transport fuel demand in the country. According to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative (Jodi), Saudi Arabia’s jet fuel demand fell to 47,500 b/d in January-August, down by 55pc from 105,500 b/d in the corresponding period in 2019. Gasoline demand dropped by 21pc on the year to 431,500 b/d over the same period.