The Haj Committee of India (HCI) has said that pilgrims shall be allowed to go for the annual Haj pilgrimage unless they have taken the two vaccine doses.
The HCI CEO Maqsood Ahmed Khan advised those who have applied for the Haj 2021 to take the first dose of the vaccine on their own now so they can be administered the second dose before departure.
However, he made it clear that there is no official communication on the status of the Haj pilgrimage yet from the Saudi Arabian authorities so far and the entire process would be subject to their approval.
“In case Indian pilgrims perform Haj-2021, outgoing flights will start from mid-June,” Khan said.
In 2020, the Haj pilgrimage was out of bounds for Muslims from India as it came during the surging peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in late July, and this year, the country is witnessing a second Covid wave.
The announcement was made late on Thursday following the latest directives from the Saudi Arabian health ministry and the Indian consulate-general in Jeddah.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
