Hajj trips called off for COVID-19

The China Islamic Association has suspended organizing Chinese Muslims to attend the hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, this year after the country decided to bar Muslims from other countries from taking part in the annual pilgrimage to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the association said on Wednesday night.

The confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia have reached more than 170,000, and more than 1,000 casualties have been reported. Further, the outbreak has mainly spread in cities including Mecca, Medina and Jeddah, where key religious sites are located.

Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that to protect people's health, it would not allow Muslims from other nations to travel to the country for the hajj, the association said in a statement released on Wednesday.

As a result, the association has decided to suspend organizing the pilgrimages for Chinese Muslims this year. It asked local Islamic associations around the country to explain the situation to their Muslim communities, according to the statement.

There has always been a long waiting list to attend the hajj, which is organized by the association in Muslim-populated areas such as the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. More than 10,000 Chinese pilgrims have had the opportunity to attend the annual Hajj in recent years, depending on the quota given by Saudi Arabia.

To take part, Chinese Muslims must register at the website of their local religious affairs bureau. The annual quota given to each province or region depends on its Muslim population.

Some 2.5 million pilgrims typically visit the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the weeklong hajj.

Saudi Arabia will also limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending this year's hajj, which will start by the end of July, to around 1,000, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabian Hajj minister Mohammed Benten said at a news conference on Tuesday that strict health criteria would be used to select eligible pilgrims among citizens and residents. Those above 65 years old would not be allowed to attend the pilgrimage, he said.

Saudi Arabia is keen to enable all Muslims of different nationalities to perform hajj, but the global health circumstances this year made this hajj an exception, Benten said.

"Everyone knows the risks of this virus… and therefore there will be risks to transfer pilgrims across countries," he said, adding that the safety of pilgrims was a priority for the kingdom.

The pilgrimage has faced no significant limits on attendance since the mid-1800s, when outbreaks of cholera and plague kept pilgrims away for a number of years.