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Grand Mosque in Mecca drops social distancing
Workers removed floor markings that guide people to social distance in and around the Grand Mosque, which is built around the Kaaba, the black cubic structure towards which Muslims around the world pray.
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Muslim worshippers gather to pray round the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the Grand Mosque complex in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca, to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, on May 13, 2021.
(AFP/Abdulghani ESSA )
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he Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia operated at full capacity Sunday, with worshippers praying shoulder-to-shoulder for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Workers removed floor markings that guide people to social distance in and around the Grand Mosque, which is built around the Kaaba, the black cubic structure towards which Muslims around the world pray.
"This is in line with the decision to ease precautionary measures and to allow pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque at full capacity," reported the official Saudi Press Agency.
Pictures and footage on Sunday morning showed people praying side by side, making straight rows of worshippers that are formations revered in performing Muslim prayers, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold last year.
While social distancing measures were lifted, the authorities said visitors must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus and must continue to wear masks on mosque grounds.
Also, the Kaaba remained cordoned off and out of reach.
Saudi Arabia announced in August it will begin accepting vaccinated foreigners wanting to make the umrah pilgrimage.
