- MINA: Forty-one bus drivers out of 900 applicants for Haj-related jobs tested positive for drug use and were turned away, according to Dr.
- Ibrahim Al- Omar, the director general of the Ministry of Health’s lab division.
Al-Omar said on Sunday the drug screens were part of a major 14-day program to educate and scrutinize men seeking jobs as Haj bus drivers.
“Over 10,000 bus drivers from major Haj bus operating companies have attended this program,” he said. “Over 7,000 samples were tested against alcohol and illegal drugs during the 20 days preceding the Haj month of Dul Hijjah (Islamic month that began on Oct. 9). Only three samples tested positive in that large sample.”
Al-Omar added that random drug testing of drivers would continue throughout the Haj season.