Hajj pilgrimage begins with strict social distancing

Saudi Hajj which is to begin in mid-July will be limited to 60,000 people, all of them within the kingdom, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

This year, pilgrims are eating prepackaged meals alone in their hotel rooms and praying at a distance from one another. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS)

Workers disinfect the ground outside the Grand Mosque, over fears of the new coronavirus, at the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 pilgrims will be allowed to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo)

Rather than standing and praying shoulder-to-shoulder in a sea of people from different walks of life, pilgrims this year are social distancing — standing apart and moving in small groups of 20 to limit exposure and the potential transmission of the coronavirus. (Saudi Ministry of Media/Handout via REUTERS)

The Saudi government is covering all the pilgrims' expenses of travel, accommodation, meals and healthcare. A unique and scaled-down hajj started on Wednesday. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

Mecca was sealed off for months ahead of the hajj, and the smaller year-round Umrah pilgrimage was suspended earlier this year, with pilgrims already in the city at that time flown back home. In pic: An aerial view shows tents of Muslim pilgrims during Haj pilgrimage. (Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS)

A combination picture shows Muslim pilgrims circling the Kaaba at the Grand mosque during the annual Haj pilgrimage September 8, 2016, and after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak July 29, 2020, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (top)/ Saudi Ministry of Media/Handout via REUTERS)