On Sunday morning, the first prayer without social distancing was held at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina following the easing of precautionary measures related to the coronavirus. Earlier, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques published a series of images on its official Twitter account showing the removal of distancing stickers inside the Grand Mosque as part of the Kingdom's plan to reduce COVID-19 measures.
The Presidency wrote on Twitter: "Currently happening: In line with the decision to ease precautionary measures, the presidency is proceeding to remove social distancing stickers from all locations in the Grand Mosque in preparation for the morning prayer on Sunday." Many pictures and videos were shared on social media showing the removal of distancing stickers that were previously placed inside the Grand Mosque as part of the implemented measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The Presidency removed the distancing stickers in preparation for applying the decision to ease coronavirus precautionary measures, allowing full capacity use in the Grand Mosque. The Saudi Press Agency “SPA” reported that Osama bin Mansour Al-Hujaili, the Deputy President for Crowd Management, stated that due to directives from the General President of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, the Presidency began removing stickers that had been placed in the Grand Mosque to assist visitors in maintaining social distancing as part of a series of precautionary measures taken by the presidency.
Additionally, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque has changed the visual identity around the Holy Kaaba by replacing the plastic barriers adjacent to the Kaaba with tape barriers, as part of a set of measures taken to welcome visitors to the Grand Mosque at full capacity.
