Kuwait's pilgrim quota rolled back to 3622

Saudi Arabia has set Kuwait’s quota for this year’s Hajj at 3,622 pilgrims down from the pre-pandemic 8,000 pilgrims, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas has reported.

Around 2.5 million Muslims from around the world used to attend Hajj in Saudi Arabia every year before the pandemic.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia said it would allow 1 million pilgrims from inside and outside the kingdom to perform this year’s Hajj, after restricting the annual ritual to some thousands of Muslims living inside the country for the last two years due to COVID-19 outbreak.

Al Qabas, citing government sources, said the number of pilgrims allowed from Kuwait for this year has been reduced after Saudi Arabia has set the overall number of pilgrims at 1 million only.
There was no immediate official comment in Kuwait or Saudi Arabia on the report.

Eligible pilgrims this year must be under 65, fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and present a negative PCR test, Saudi authorities have said.

Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf will coordinate with operators of Hajj trips in the country to “control” prices, expected to increase due to the downsized number of pilgrims so as to allow limited-income people to get access to Hajj offered at low prices with quality services.