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Saudi Arabia: Kaaba reopens for tawaf ritual amid COVID-19 scare

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GUWAHATI: Mecca’s Grand Mosque partially reopened on Saturday for tawaf ritual. The authorities have implemented a ban on a few things as part of measures to combat the spread of Coronavirus disease.


Based on a royal decree by King Salman, the holy site of Mecca reopened on Saturday morning for the pilgrims who seek to perform the tawaf ritual. However, Pilgrims were not allowed to touch the Kaaba during the ritual.

Saudi Arabia is taking a series of measures since Thursday to protect the two mosques of Mecca and Medina from the spread of Coronavirus infection.

As part of the measures, authorities closed off the Grand Mosque to sanitize the tawaf area near the Kaaba.

Meanwhile, the entry to Mount Safa and Mount Marwa are also banned until further notification.

The earlier decision also includes the closing of Zamzam water fountains within the mosques.

Riyadh on Wednesday introduced a ban on Saudi citizens, residents and foreigners hoping to visit Mecca and Medina for the Umrah pilgrimage.

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