As part of efforts to curb the Coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia has announced that it will hold a “very limited” hajj this year.

The decision marks the first time in Saudi Arabia’s modern history that Muslims outside the kingdom have been barred from performing the hajj, which last year drew 2.5 million pilgrims.

The move to scale back the five-day event, scheduled for the end of July, is fraught with political and economic peril and comes after several Muslim nations pulled out of the ritual that forms one of the main pillars of Islam.

The kingdom’s hajj ministry said the ritual will be open to various nationalities already in Saudi Arabia, but it did not specify a number.

“It was decided to hold the pilgrimage this year with very limited numbers… with different nationalities in the kingdom,” the official Saudi Press Agency said on Monday, citing the ministry.

“This decision is taken to ensure the hajj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective… and in accordance with the teachings of Islam.”