MAKKAH — The Saudi authorities have completed elaborate foolproof arrangements for this year's Hajj as pilgrims are engaged in final preparations to set out for the tent city of Mina at the start of their lifetime spiritual journey on Sunday. The first batch of pilgrims completed on Saturday the ritual of Tawaf Al-Qudum (Tawaf of Arrival) with ease and comfort amid an integrated system of services and precautionary measures. A total of 60,000 domestic pilgrims from 150 countries will perform the annual pilgrimage in an unprecedented security situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic wherein 25,000 officials and staffers have been deployed to serve the pilgrims. Director of Public Security and Head of the Hajj Security Committee Gen. Khalid Al-Harbi said that only those who have received two doses of vaccine against coronavirus will be allowed to perform Hajj. On Friday, Al-Harbi inspected the preparedness of the security authorities, who are tasked to implement security plans at the holy sites. The inspection tour covered all the commands of the Hajj security forces and the supporting security authorities. He listened to the briefings from the field commanders about the mechanism of implementing the security, traffic and organizational plans for a hassle-free Hajj. The pilgrims began to flock to Makkah on Saturday, in preparation for the launch of the Hajj rituals, which are limited to domestic pilgrims due to the unprecedented circumstances in terms of organization and the limited number of pilgrims for the second year in a row due to the continuing spread of the epidemic. A total of 60,000 Saudis and expatriates have been selected from among 558,000 applicants to perform the annual pilgrimage as compared to about 2.5 million pilgrims who performed the pilgrimage in 2019 before the outbreak of the pandemic. This year's Hajj is limited to pilgrims, between the ages of 18 and 65 years, and who do not have chronic diseases. Last year, Saudi Arabia organized the smallest pilgrimage in terms of the number of participants in modern history. The Saudi authorities are seeking to repeat the success of the pilgrimage last year, which was characterized by the great organization and total compliance with preventive measures against the pandemic. The pilgrims perform Tawaf Al-Qudum at the beginning of the rituals and then they perform sa'i between Safa and Marwah, one of the pillars of Hajj, before heading to Mina on Sunday on the day of Tarwiyah, and from there to Arafat on Monday, 10 kilometers away, to perform Standing at Arafat, the most important pillars of the Hajj, marking the climax of the annual pilgrimage. The authorities have deployed several security checkpoints on the main roads leading to the Grand Mosque in Makkah. In the meantime, logistical and health preparations are still going on inside the pilgrims' camps in Mina. The Hajj season coincides with a rise in the number of infections around the world, especially due to the spread of mutated strains of the virus, despite the vaccination campaigns that have been going on for several months. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah confirmed that it is following the highest levels of health precautions in light of the COVID--19 pandemic and its new variants. The Kingdom is seeking to use the highly advanced means of technology to ensure the application of physical distance and stem the spread of the pandemic. Addressing a meeting of Hajj security commanders in Makkah, Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Abdul Fattah Mashat said that the ministry's plan is based on harnessing technology to serve the guests of God. He also referred to the introduction of the Hajj smart card as the latest addition. The ministry made it clear that the card would allow pilgrims to reach their tents at the holy sites and hotels in Makkah without human contact and facilitate their transportation in the holy sites. The card will also help in tracing any pilgrims in the event of losing contact with him. The authorities also started using black and white robots to distribute bottles of Zamzam water among pilgrims so as to ensure social distancing. The ministry stated that it will provide 3,000 buses to transport pilgrims, and each bus will carry only 20 pilgrims. Deputy Minister of Hajj Muhammad Al-Bijawi said that dividing pilgrims into groups of 20 aims to limit the infection to 20 pilgrims in the event of any infected pilgrim in any group. The ban on approaching the Black Stone will also continue. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health announced that it has prepared a number of facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to serve the pilgrims.
