Pilgrims return to Mecca as Saudi Arabia eases virus restrictions

Police officers guard the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Amr Nabil/AP)

A very small, limited number of people wearing the white terrycloth garment symbolic of the Muslim pilgrimage circled Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Sunday after Saudi Arabia lifted coronavirus restrictions that had been in place for months.

The kingdom took the rare step in March of suspending the smaller “umrah” pilgrimage which draws millions from across the world all year round as the coronavirus morphed into a global pandemic and prompted countries to impose lockdowns and curfews to slow down transmission.