MANAMA: Haj contractors in Bahrain are overbooked with pilgrims who are leaving in large numbers for Saudi Arabia, despite warnings by the World Health Organization regarding 1,000 new cases of swine flu reported in various countries.
“Reservations to perform Umrah or to visit Madinah are still ongoing. This summer we are noticing an increase of travelers to Saudi Arabia,” Fadhel Abaas, owner of Al Ata’a Contracting said.
Contractors said that concerns over the threat of a swine flu outbreak and calls by religious leaders for pilgrims to postpone their travels have not had any effect on those planning to visit the holy sites for the annual pilgrimage.
Last week two buses with 90 passengers left for Saudi Arabia.
Another Haj contractor said that Saudi authorities had made the necessary arrangements to identify and quarantine any travelers suspected of being infected with the swine flu virus. Health authorities in Bahrain have also begun reviewing their safety plan for pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia.
“We will be conducting a series of workshops in the coming weeks for our staff assigned to the Haj medical team,” an official from the Health Ministry said.
He said this year, after the outbreak of swine flu worldwide, they would take extra care of pilgrims showing flu symptoms.
Last year, about 8,000 Bahraini pilgrims performed Haj.
Bahrain is the only country in the Gulf region that has registered suspected swine flu cases.
A 40-year-old American traveler and a woman passenger coming from Paris were quarantined, but both of them tested negative for the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu.
