Religious tourism and mass religious gatherings — The potential link in the spread of COVID-19. Current perspective and future implications

Abstract

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Hajj and Umrah Mass Gatherings and COVID-19 Infection

“…International travel has already been shown to play a central role in the spreading of COVID-19 and international MGs like the Hajj or Umrah, if maintained may well have contributed to the globalization of SARS-CoV-2 through returned participants. [ 49 – 51 ]. A few cases of COVID-19 occurred in Umrah pilgrims before international travel was banned.…”

Asymptomatic SARS Coronavirus 2 infection: Invisible yet invincible

“…Of great importance are super-spreading events, which are infection clusters constituting effective chains of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. For instance, such superspreading events have been observed in Hong Kong ( Adam et al, 2020 ), at religious mass events in Iran ( Mubarak and Zin, 2020 ) and choir rehearsals in the US ( Hamner et al, 2020 ), where singing contributed to a maximum emission of droplets and aerosols and, thus, to successful transmission ( Asadi et al, 2019 ).…”

Diabetes Care During Hajj

“…In the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, religious gatherings at Mecca are potential exposure settings that could facilitate the spread of the disease to Hajjis [12]. This perception is supported by studies that identified the crowded conditions of the Hajj as hotspots for transmitting antibiotic-resistant infections and pulmonary infections, which emphasises that this setting could also serve as a hotspot for the spread of COVID-19 [12].…”

“…In the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, religious gatherings at Mecca are potential exposure settings that could facilitate the spread of the disease to Hajjis [ 12 ]. This perception is supported by studies that identified the crowded conditions of the Hajj as hotspots for transmitting antibiotic-resistant infections and pulmonary infections, which emphasises that this setting could also serve as a hotspot for the spread of COVID-19 [ 12 ]. In previous outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Hajj pilgrims were found to show poor compliance with preventive protocols because of their inclination to fulfill religious commitments [ 13 , 14 ].…”

“…In previous outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Hajj pilgrims were found to show poor compliance with preventive protocols because of their inclination to fulfill religious commitments [ 13 , 14 ]. Patients with DM are at a greater risk of developing a severe manifestation of COVID-19, with a resultant higher risk of mortality due to respiratory complications [ 7 , 12 ]. Although the Hajj borders were open from 2 August 2020, keeping in mind the religious sentiments of a larger group, patients with DM must completely avoid Hajj gatherings until the spread of COVID-19 is contained in their home country as well as in Saudi Arabia [ 13 , 14 ].…”