Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, announced good news for Muslims about the return of the number of pilgrims for the Hajj season of the year 1444 AH to what it was before the pandemic without any conditions or age restrictions.

He also announced during the opening ceremony of the Hajj and Umrah Services Conference and Exhibition "Hajj Expo" the reduction of the comprehensive insurance fee for the Umrah performer to 88 riyals, and the insurance fee for the pilgrim to 29 riyals.

Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it would allow Muslims to perform the Hajj pilgrimage this year without any restrictions on the number of pilgrims or their ages, after three years of significantly reducing the number of pilgrims due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Al Ekhbariya channel also quoted the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, announcing in a press conference in Riyadh "the return of the number of pilgrims to what it was before the pandemic and without any age restrictions," after the spread of the coronavirus in 2020 forced the Gulf kingdom to reduce the number of pilgrims while allowing only those under 65 years old to perform it.

The spread of the coronavirus in 2020 forced the Gulf kingdom to reduce the number of pilgrims while allowing only those under 65 years old to perform it.

Hajj is considered one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, and the number of pilgrims in 2019 reached about 2.5 million pilgrims.

But after the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020, Saudi Arabia allowed only one thousand people to perform the ritual, before raising the number in 2021 to sixty thousand fully vaccinated people chosen by lottery. The number was raised to one million Muslims, including 850 thousand from outside the kingdom also chosen by lottery.

Saudi authorities also required that all pilgrims coming from abroad must be fully vaccinated and present a negative COVID-19 test result.

Saudi Arabia canceled most of the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the requirement to be vaccinated to travel to it.