A video of a man carrying an elderly woman on his back, as he walked around the Kaaba during the ongoing Hajj season, went viral on social media earlier this week. 

While it remains unclear whether the woman is related to the man or not, the heartwarming gesture caught the attention of many who went on to share the video on several social media platforms. 

One social media user explained that the man "spotted the elderly woman struggling to make the walk around the Kaaba. She was refusing to use a wheel chair because then she wouldn't be able to see the holy site and this is why he decided to carry her throughout the tawaf." 

Thousands of people left comments under the video which has been circulating online for the past few days. 

Many of them hailed the man and expressed how incredibly moved they were by his gesture. 

"This made me want to cry, especially when I heard her say: 'But you're fasting, son."' 

Qatar now allows nationals of 80 countries visa-free access, making it the "most open country in the region" to foreign visitors.

Nationals of these 80 countries will no longer need to apply for visa or pay for them on arrival. Instead, they will simply be able to show their passport at customs and enter the country, according to state-owned Qatar Airways.

While many of the countries on the list already had relatively easy access to Qatar, simply having to pay a fee of 100 Qatari riyals ($27.50) upon arrival to obtain a tourist visa, this payment will now be waived.

"The visa exemption scheme will make Qatar the most open country in the region," Hassan al-Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development officer at Qatar Tourism Authority said, according to Reuters.

"The waiver will be valid for 180 days from the date of issuance and entitle its holder to spend up to 90 days in Qatar, during either a single trip or on multiple trips," according to Qatar Tourism Authority.

"The waiver will be valid for 30 days from the date of issuance and entitle its holder to spend up to 30 days in Qatar, during either a single trip or on multiple trips. This waiver may be extended for a further 30 days," the tourism website says.

In June, Qatar opened up visa on arrival to 30 new nationalities under its old scheme. These countries included Lebanon, Russia, China, South Africa, and Indonesia.

Prior to that change, Qatar only allowed visa on arrival access to just over 30 countries.

Last November, Doha opened up the country's borders to all Qatar Airways passengers, granting them automatic 4-day transit visas, regardless of nationality. Also last year, free 96-hour visas were rolled out to passengers of cruise ships docking in Qatar.

Qatari authorities are planning to open the borders even further. 

Some of the changes under consideration include granting visa-free access to legal residents of Gulf Cooperation Council countries as well as non-citizen residents of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Schengen countries.

"Easing entry to Qatar is a key enabler for the growth of Qatar’s tourism industry. With this announcement we are already turning the pages of the Next Chapter of Qatar’s journey towards 2030," al-Ibrahim said.

"There is no doubt that facilitating and streamlining access at all ports of entry are key factors in creating a positive first and lasting impression of Qatar."