Riyadh, Apr 10 (IANS): Saudi Arabia will allow 1 million domestic and foreign pilgrims to join the Mecca Hajj pilgrimage in the upcoming Hajj season this year, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced on Saturday.

The decision aims to enable the largest number of Muslims worldwide to perform the pilgrimage rituals, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the ministry.

The pilgrims coming to perform Hajj should be less than 65 years old and are fully vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine, noted the ministry.

Foreign pilgrims must submit a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before their departure to Saudi Arabia, it added.

The upcoming season is expected to be the first to allow foreign pilgrims to perform Hajj, as the last two seasons were limited only to domestic pilgrims to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the holy city of Mecca received around 60,000 pilgrims, while the number in 2019 was 2.5 million, according to the ministry.