Saudi Arabia concludes downsized hajj amid pandemic

Muslim pilgrims circled Islam’s holiest site along socially distanced paths Sunday in the final ritual of the hajj, the smallest in modern history as Saudi authorities sought to prevent a coronavirus outbreak. Pilgrims returned to the Grand Mosque in Mecca later Sunday to perform a final “tawaf”, or circling of the Kaaba — a cubic structure towards which Muslims around the world pray.