Maskless pilgrims launch largest hajj of Covid era
The biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic began kicks off Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of mostly maskless worshippers expected to circle Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia's Mecca.
One million fully vaccinated Muslims, including 850,000 from abroad, are allowed at this year's hajj, a major break from two years of drastically curtailed numbers due to the pandemic.