Haj 2020: WHO hails Saudi Arabia's coronavirus precautions

Geneva, Switzerland - Director-general says pilgrimage is 'a powerful demonstration of the kinds of measures that countries can and must take to adapt to the new normal'.

Director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has hailed the precautionary measures taken by Saudi Arabia during this year's Haj.
"I'd like to congratulate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the steps it has put in place to make the Haj as safe as possible this year. This is a powerful demonstration of the kinds of measures that countries can and must take to adapt to the new normal," he said at a news conference in Geneva today.
Also read: Haj 2020: Muslim pilgrims scale Mount Arafat for peak of pilgrimage
In the meantime, he warned that younger people are at risk of contracting Covid-19. "Although older people are at a higher risk of severe disease, younger people are at risk too. One of the challenges we face is convincing younger people of this risk.
"Evidence suggests that spikes of cases in some countries are being driven in part by younger people letting down their guard during the northern hemisphere summer," Dr Tedros said. 
"We have said it before and we'll say it again: young people are not invincible. Young people can be infected; young people can die; and young people can transmit the virus to others. That's why young people must take the same precautions to protect themselves and protect others as everyone else. They can be leaders - they should be leaders and drivers of change."

• Saudi Arabia