Togo has become the second West African country to implement Covid-19 screening tests and face mask requirements for pilgrims returning from the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
Senegal was the first country in the region to introduce voluntary tests, suspecting that a number of the approximately 1,300 deaths — according to Saudi records — were due to respiratory ailments such as Covid-19.
A Togolese government statement on Friday announced that hajj pilgrims would be required to undergo mandatory Covid tests and “limit contacts, wear masks, wash regularly, and avoid large gatherings” for 10 days after their return.
Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency reported 1,301 deaths during the annual pilgrimage, which was attended by around 1.8 million faithful from all over the world, with temperatures reaching up to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit).
According to SPA, more than 80 percent of the pilgrims participating in mainly outdoor rituals were “unauthorised” and walked long distances in direct sunlight.
Approximately 18 percent of Togo’s eight million population is Muslim. This year, about 2,500 Togolese traveled to Saudi Arabia for the hajj. They departed in June and are returning between June 29 and July 3 on special flights chartered by the government of this small coastal nation bordering Ghana.