Fearing the outbreak of Ebola among the Hajj pilgrims, Saudi Arabia has banned entry to travellers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The decision was announced on Wednesday by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The note cited last week’s move by the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the Ebola outbreak in DRC’s eastern North Kivu and Ituri provinces a public health emergency of international concern.
“The granting of arrivals visas for people entering from DRC has been stopped, to conserve the well-being of pilgrims,” the Saudi ministry’s note said.
The recent outbreak of Ebola has been worst in the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has claimed more than 1,500 lives.
For Muslims, it is a central pillar of the Islamic faith meant to cleanse followers of sin and bring them closer to God. The Hajj re-enacts the actions of the Prophet Muhammad in his “farewell pilgrimage” in 632 BCE.
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The six-day pilgrimage is obligatory once in a lifetime for all Muslims with the means to afford it.