사우디 메카서 '마스크 성지순례' 시작…참가자 250만→1천 명<br /><br />The annual Hajj has begun in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, but unlike last year's that drew more than two and a half million people, it is dramatically scaled back due the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />Small groups of pilgrims, circled the cube-shaped structure Kaaba in the first rituals of the hajj, wearing face masks and maintaining social distance.<br />This year, the Saudi government has banned pilgrims from outside the Kingdom, and selected around one thousand people already residing in Saudi Arabia to take part in the hajj.<br />Seven hundred out of them were from among foreign residents in Saudi Arabia.<br />Pilgrims were tested for COVID-19 in advance, and they will also be required to quarantine after the five days of worship ends on Sunday.<br />
