are in place and a hajj smart pass is being used to allow contact free access and transportation to the various religious sites and accommodation. technology will also play a part, with the deployment of robots to dispense bottles of sacred water from the grand mosque and others to dispense disinfectant. while a large proportion of security will take place remotely, and most of the marshals who would normally be on site will be in a call centre instead. translation: we help them| if they are lost or need urgent medical help or can t find a toll operator. it s taken complicated and costly planning, but hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige for saudi rulers. barring overseas pilgrims will cost the kingdom around $12 billion this year and impact hundreds of thousands of jobs in the holy city.
dispense disinfectant. while a large proportion of security will take place remotely, and most of the marshals who would normally be on site will be in a call centre instead. translation: we help them| if they are lost or need urgent medical help or can t find a toll operator. it s taken complicated and costly planning, but hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige for saudi rulers. barring overseas pilgrims will cost the kingdom around $12 billion this year and impact hundreds of thousands of jobs in the holy city. but the hajj is a gathering which could easily become a coronavirus super spreader event and with around 1a out of 3a million saudis still unvaccinated, it s a risk the kingdom isn t willing to take. sophia tran thompson, bbc news.
from around the world converge on mecca. this year, just 60,000 healthy and vaccinated saudi residents, chosen through a lottery from almost 600,000 applicants, will take part. strict social distancing measures are in place and a hajj smart pass is being used to allow contact free access and transportation to the various religious sites and accommodation. technology will also play a part, with the deployment of robots to dispense bottles of sacred water from the grand mosque and others to dispense disinfectant. while a large proportion of security will take place remotely, and most of the marshals who would normally be on site will be in a call centre instead. translation: we help them| if they are lost or need urgent medical help or can t find a toll operator. it s taken complicated and costly planning,
strict social distancing measures are in place and a hajj smart pass is being used to allow contact free access and transportation to the various religious sites and accommodation. technology will also play a part, with the deployment of robots to dispense bottles of sacred water from the grand mosque and others to dispense disinfectant. while a large proportion of security will take place remotely, and most of the marshals who would normally be on site will be in a call centre instead. translation: we help them if they re lost or need urgent | medical help or can t find a toll operator. it s taken complicated and costly planning, but hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige for saudi rulers. barring overseas pilgrims will cost the kingdom around $12 billion this
from the grand mosque and others to dispense disinfectant. while a large proportion of security will take place remotely, and most of the marshals who would normally be on site will be in a call centre instead. translation: we help them if they re lost or need urgent | medical help or can t find a toll operator. it s taken complicated and costly planning, but hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige for saudi rulers. barring overseas pilgrims will cost the kingdom around $12 billion this year and impact hundreds of thousands of jobs in the holy city. but the hajj is a gathering which could easily become a coronavirus super spreader event, and with around 14 out of 34 million saudis still unvaccinated, it s a risk the kingdom isn t willing to take. sophia tran thompson, bbc news.