Maldives Hajj Corporation has conducted the draw of the 100 Hajj quotas that were opened to the public for application.
The Maldives received 453 quotas for this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, all of which were issued to Hajj Corporation. The corporation had earlier revealed that 353 of these quotas were given to individuals who were on the waiting list of the corporation, while the remaining 100 quotas were opened for application.
The draw for the 100 quotas opened for public application took place on June 6. A total of 897 people had applied for these quotas. In addition to the 100 people who were selected for the quotas, an additional 25 people were picked for the waiting queue of the corporation.
Due to the limits placed by the Saudi government, the Maldives has received fewer Hajj quotas than before. As such, the 453 quotas received this year is a significant decrease from the 1,000 quotas the Maldives used to receive prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Saudi government has announced that one million people will be allowed in the country to perform the Hajj pilgrimage this year, following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions. This is less than half of the 2.5 million people that were previously allowed to enter Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the announcement of the Saudi government, only individuals below the age of 65 who have completed the full dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed to enter Saudi Arabia for Hajj this year. Pilgrims entering the country are also required to present a negative PCR test upon arrival.
This year’s Hajj pilgrimage will begin on July 7.