Hundereds of thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims, some in masks and gloves, flooded Iraq's Karbala on Sunday to mark Ashura, in one of the largest religious gatherings of the world.
Ashura, on the 10th day of the mourning month of Muharram, commemorates the mrtydom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson Hussein "A. S" at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.
According to Ibtimes.com.au, typically, millions of Shiites from around the world flock to the holy city's golden-domed shrine where Hussein's remains are buried, to pray and cry, shoulder-to-shoulder.
But with coronavirus numbers spiking across the globe, this year's commemoration has been subdued.
A worker sprays worshippers with disinfectant as they mourn at Imam Hussein's shrine, where the walls are covered in nylon to prevent kissing in reverence.
"Honestly, this year is nothing like the millions-strong commemorations of other years," said Fadel Hakim, who was out early in the streets around the shrine, a blue medical mask cupping his chin.
"It stands out because there are so few people."
Worshippers re-enacted the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in Karbala despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Small clusters of pilgrims gathered in the vast courtyards outside the shrine, wearing the customary black mourning clothes along with less traditional masks and gloves.
To be allowed in, people had their temperatures taken at grey gates resembling metal detectors.
Inside, signs indicated the required distance between worshippers as they pray and nylon sheets prevented people from kissing the walls, a traditional sign of reverence.
Iraqi Shiite Muslims take part in a mourning ritual sprinting towards the shrine in the famed "Tuwairij run" at the peak of Ashura in the holy city of Karbala.
They put on a dramatic re-enactment of his killing at the hands of Sunni Caliph Yazid's forces, then sprinted towards the shrine in the famed "Tuwairij run".
Some wore masks as they jogged under disinfectant mists, but otherwise no protective measures were taken.
Last year, a stampede broke out in Karbala that left at least 31 dead and dozens more wounded.
"This year will prove to the whole world that a pilgrimage to the Imam Hussein shrine is like a miracle. God willing, there won't be any new coronavirus cases," said Mohammad Abdulamir, a mask-less pilgrim.
Karbala governor Nassif al-Khitabi defended the safety measures put in place and hailed Sunday as a "success."
"Tens of thousands of pilgrims attended," he told journalists, or about 65 percent of the normal volume.
Authorities in Iraq, other Shiite-majority countries and the United Nations urged people to mark Ashura at home.
