Global report: downsized hajj pilgrimage begins amid Covid-19 restrictions

US deaths near 150,000; half of people living in Mumbai slums have had the coronavirus; China records 100 new cases

Muslim pilgrims have begun the annual hajj in the holy city of Mecca in a dramatically downsized version as the hosts, Saudi Arabia, try to prevent any outbreaks of coronavirus during the five-day pilgrimage.

The hajj, one of the five pillars or most important practices of Islam and an obligation for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings as around 2.5 million people descend on the city from all over the world.

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