In Pictures: Hajj in Mecca during the COVID pandemic

The Hajj once drew some 2.5 million Muslims, but this year just 60,000 people are being allowed to perform it.

Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims circled Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Sunday but remained socially distanced and wore masks as the coronavirus takes its toll on the Hajj for a second year running. Previously drawing some 2.5 million Muslims from all walks of life from across the globe, the Hajj pilgrimage is now almost unrecognisable in scale. The pared-down Hajj of this year and last due to the COVID-19 pandemic not only affects the ability of people outside Saudi Arabia to fulfil the Islamic obligation but also the billions of dollars annually that Saudi Arabia draws from being the custodian of the holy sites.