Grand Mosque drops social distancing

MECCA, Saudi Arabia: The Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia operated at full capacity on Sunday, with worshipers praying shoulder-to-shoulder for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Workers removed floor markings that guide people to social distance in and around the Grand Mosque, which is built around the Kaaba, the black cubic structure toward which Muslims around the world pray.