Saudi to allow 60,000 vaccinated residents to perform hajj

Saudi Arabia had been considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual haj for the second year running.

Pilgrims walk around the Kabba at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on 31 July 2020. Source: AAP/Saudi Ministry of Media

Saudi Arabia announced it will allow 60,000 vaccinated residents of the kingdom to perform the annual hajj, state media reported.

The hajj ministry said this year's pilgrimage would be "open for nationals and residents of the kingdom, limited to 60,000 pilgrims", according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

"Those wishing to perform the hajj must be free of chronic diseases and be vaccinated" and between the ages of 18 and 65, it said.