DUBAI: Kuwait is preparing to send 3,622 pilgrims for Hajj after Saudi Arabia said it would allow one million Muslims to perform the annual pilgrimage this year, about two years after COVID-19 restrictions were imposed due to public safety concerns.
Teams have been assigned to arrange pilgrims’ pick-up and drop-off to and from the Kingdoms’ airport, prepare the camps in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, facilitate transportation inside the Kingdom and provide the necessary healthcare services, state news agency KUNA reported, quoting Kuwait’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
Pilgrims leaving for Hajj from Kuwait must be nationals, fully vaccinated (two doses) against COVID-19 and below the age of 65. They also need to present a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to departure in line with Saudi authority guidelines, KUNA added.
It is estimated that up to 850,000 of those allowed to go on Hajj this year would be arriving from abroad, while local pilgrims would make up the remainder or about 150,000. Saudi Arabia started receiving foreign pilgrims last week, welcoming the first batch from Indonesia.
A committee was earlier established in collaboration with Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry to regulate and limit prices for Hajj services to “no more than 30 per cent of actual cost of services inclusive of administrative fees and profit.”
