Prince Abdul Majeed bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Makkah Region, yesterday inspected preparations undertaken by various government departments for this year’s annual Hajj, the largest gathering of people in the world.
Speaking to reporters following the inspection tour, Prince Abdul Majeed, who is also Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, urged all government officials on Hajj duty to cooperate as a team. The Governor also disclosed the government’s plan to expand the Jamrat (stoning area) in Mina. “The Makkah Development Authority has approved the plan and submitted it to higher authorities,” he said.
According to the Health Minister, Dr Hamad Al-Manie, no cases of contagious diseases have been reported among an estimated 500,000 pilgrims who have arrived in the Kingdom thus far. “All precautionary measures have been put into place to confront any potential emergency,” he added. He said that foreign pilgrims suffering from contagious diseases would either be sent back to their homeland or quarantined in Jeddah. He urged health officials at entry points to be rigorous in their inspections, in order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases among pilgrims.
Al-Manie said that the Saudi government decided not to allow entry to pilgrims from the Congo this year, because of the spread of Ebola disease in the country. The decision followed reports issued by the World Health Organization, Al-Watan daily quoted the Minister as saying. Al-Manie pointed out that there would be no ban on Chinese pilgrims this Hajj season, despite reports of suspected SARS cases in the country. He said that the Kingdom has advanced equipment to detect cases of SARS.
The Health Ministry made arrangements for 20 hospitals, 188 health centres, and 155 ambulances to serve the health needs of pilgrims, according to a report published today by Arab News. It will also deploy over 9,500 doctors, nurses, paramedics and administrative officers for this purpose. In addition, 600 medical students from eight colleges and 12 health institutes will take part in activities for the provision of Hajj services.
The Ministry has recruited 115 medical specialists and nurses from the United States, Britain and Malaysia to work in emergency, intensive care and anaesthesia units. In addition, foreign Hajj missions have brought a large number of doctors and paramedics into the country to tend to the needs of their nationals.
The Ministry has exerted all possible efforts to boost preventive medicine by inspecting pilgrims upon their arrival at 24 entry points in the Kingdom and by providing them with vaccinations against infectious diseases such as meningitis and yellow fever. The Ministry also monitors pilgrims’ health through its offices in Makkah and Madinah, and in coordination with Hajj missions.
There are seven modern hospitals in Makkah, six in Madinah, four in Mina, and three in Arafat. There are 85 health centres in Makkah, 29 in Mina, 46 in Arafat, six in Muzdalifa and 22 in Madinah. The Ministry has 75 small ambulances that will serve as mobile intensive care units operating around the clock, and 80 large ambulances equipped with modern medical facilities.
Prince Abdul Majeed opened a charity kitchen in Arafat yesterday, which was established by Muhammad bin Aboud Al-Amoudi Charity at a cost of SR7 million. The kitchen will supply 800,000 meals per day. The Governor also inspected the floodwater drainage system for pilgrims’ tents in Arafat and arrangements for the transportation of pilgrims, particularly the shuttle service established for certain groups of pilgrims.
Director General of the Passport Department, Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Sajeeni, said that, for the first time, the Passport Department has appointed female officers to inspect female pilgrims at checkpoints. He said that the measure was introduced to facilitate inspection of women’s IDs and Hajj permits.
Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) expects to transport the record number of 921,706 pilgrims to the Kingdom for Hajj this year, including 381,650 passengers from Asia, 241,480 from the Middle East, 128,200 from Africa, 170,376 from the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Switzerland.
Over two million Muslims from around the world are expected to perform Hajj this year, with over half of the pilgrims coming from abroad. Last year 1,924,000 pilgrims performed Hajj, according to official figures.
Source: SPA
