JEDDAH: More than 500 companies and establishments providing services to pilgrims and visitors have adopted a number of precautionary measures to protect their employees and customers against swine flu during the Haj and Umrah seasons.
Saad Jameel Al-Qurashi, chairman of the National Committee for Haj and Umrah (NCHU), said these companies and establishments have approved a number of preventive health steps against the pandemic in collaboration with other concerned parties, including the ministries of Health, Haj, Islamic Affairs and officials from the Makkah municipality.
A workshop was held in Makkah on Tuesday with the participation of more than 20 specialists to discuss the precautionary measures that might help reduce the possibility of getting the virus. Al-Qurashi said the workshop was part of efforts by the Makkah chamber to provide the staff involved in the Haj and Umrah services with all the data concerning swine flu, means of avoiding it and ways of providing a safe working environment.
“The NCHU will establish a hot line to communicate with all staff involved in the Haj services to provide them with all data concerning swine flu and means of protection against it,” he said.
Al-Qurashi said a mechanism will be set up to ensure the participation of the Haj and Umrah companies in the fight against the swine flu, including providing data about its symptoms, means of spreading and the protective measures that should be taken in crowded places and movement between the holy sites and the Haram.
Khaleel Bahador, a member of the NCHU who has been working in this field for more than 20 years, said most of the workers in the pilgrimage and Umrah services have gained enough experience to deal with epidemic diseases.
“The swine flu is only a ring in a chain of pandemics which were on the spread lately including SARS, dengue fever, rift valley fever and others,” he said adding that the precautionary measures taken against the spread of the swine flu was so far the largest.
