The barriers placed around the Kaaba during the Covid-19 pandemic were taken away by Saudi authorities on Tuesday. The move came as Muslim faithful flocked to Mecca to perform Umrah, the minor optional pilgrimage that can be performed at any time of the year, following Hajj season. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz gave his “generous approval” to “lift the protective barriers around the Kaaba, coinciding with the start of Umrah season”, said Abdul-Rahman Al-Sudais, general president of the affairs of Islam’s Two Holiest Mosques, according to news website Arabi 21. Mecca’s Great Mosque, …