Muslims Observing Hajj Pilgrimage (+Video)

Hajj - the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca - has begun, but under dramatically different circumstances due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Hajj is required for all Muslims who are physically or financially capable of undertaking it at least once in their lifetime and is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

But this year, only up to 10,000 people already residing in Saudi Arabia will participate in the five-day pilgrimage, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world that attended last year.

Pilgrims will be required to wear masks and observe physical distancing during a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in the holy city of Mecca and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

Those selected to take part in the Hajj were subject to temperature checks and placed in a short quarantine ahead of the rites beginning on Wednesday.

State media showed health workers sanitizing pilgrims' luggage, and pilgrims reported being given electronic wristbands to allow authorities to monitor their whereabouts, Al Jazeera reported.

Hajj authorities reported setting up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater to the pilgrims. The foreign press is barred from this year's Hajj, usually a huge global media event, as the government tightens access to Mecca.

Saudi authorities initially said only some 1,000 pilgrims residing in the kingdom would be permitted to perform Hajj, but local media reports say as many as 10,000 will be allowed to take part.

Some 70 percent of the pilgrims are foreigners residing in Saudi Arabia, while the rest will be Saudi citizens, authorities said.