Saudi Arabia is banning foreigners from attending the Hajj again this year because of the pandemic.

It will also limit the number of people who can take part in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca to 60,000, a fraction of the 2 million that attend in a normal year.

Still, the figure is far more than the 1,000 permitted last year, two-thirds of whom were foreign residents from among the 160 different nationalities that would have normally been represented. One-third were Saudi security personnel and medical staff.

A statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency on Saturday said this year’s hajj, which begins in mid-July, would be also limited to vaccinated people aged 18 to 65, The Associated Press reported

All able-bodied Muslims who can afford it are required to perform the physically demanding pilgrimage to the religion’s holiest sites at least once in their lifetimes.

It follows a route the Prophet Muhammad walked nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to ultimately trace the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael as they are named in the Bible. It is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and encourage greater humility and unity.

In a typical year, most pilgrims also visit Medina, about 280 miles northeast of Mecca, to visit the Mosque of the Prophet, which contains Muhammad’s tomb.