COVID-19 and the scaled-down 2020 Hajj Pilgrimage—Decisive, logical and prudent decision making by Saudi authorities overcomes pre-Hajj public health concerns

• Alimuddin Zumla,
• Esam I. Azhar,
• Saleh Alqahtani,
• Shuja Shafi,
• Ziad A. Memish

Affiliations

Alimuddin Zumla

Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom

Esam I. Azhar

Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Medical Laboratory Sciences Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Saleh Alqahtani

Department of Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Shuja Shafi

Mass Gatherings and Global Health Network, London, United Kingdom

Ziad A. Memish

Research & Innovation Centre, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, and College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Corresponding author at: Research & Innovation Centre, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, and College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.