The Saudi government has imposed a restriction on pilgrims with certain health conditions, including chronic and infectious diseases, from performing Haj next year, according to a notice on the Ministry of Religious Affairs website.

The notice, citing the Saudi health ministry, lists organ failure such as kidney diseases requiring dialysis, heart diseases in cases where patients are not capable of even slight exertion, chronic lung disease with patients requiring intermittent or continuous oxygen and liver failure or liver cirrhosis as conditions that do not meet the criteria for Haj.

The list also includes those suffering from neurological or cognitive disorders that affect memory, dementia and severe physical disability. Moreover, aged individuals with Alzheimer’s or suffering from tremors, as well as pregnant women in their last trimester or with those with complicated pregnancies, would also face restrictions.

Furthermore, those with infectious diseases that pose a risk to others in large gatherings, such as whooping cough, open pulmonary tuberculosis and viral haemorrhagic fever, would also be barred from performing Haj.

The list further includes patients suffering from advanced stages of cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, biological or radiological treatment.

The religious affairs ministry in Pakistan urged doctors to issue health certificates to the pilgrims after proper verification to avoid legal action and warned that in case of any false and incorrect declarations about health, the relevant pilgrim would have to return from Saudi Arabia at their own expense.

In case any of the above-mentioned illnesses were detected in an individual while getting vaccinated, medical officers at the Haj camp would be authorised to stop them from travelling, the notice stated.

Saudi monitoring teams would verify the validity of the pilgrims’ fitness certificates at the entry and exit points and locations of Haj to ensure that only those meeting the health criteria participate in the pilgrimage, the notice said.