Health of pilgrims monitored 24/7

The Ministry of Health has unveiled an integrated health plan for pilgrims coming to Madinah during the current Haj season, a senior official from the ministry announced Wednesday.
Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said his ministry has implemented an around-the-clock vigil on the health status of incoming Haj pilgrims across ports of entry into the Kingdom.
The minister pointed out that the health status of pilgrims who have arrived is promising and that there are no signs of epidemic disease among them.
“We are optimistic that the pilgrimage season will be free of epidemics as a result of preventive measures taken by the ministry,” he said. “We have also opened three health monitoring stations at the three entry points to Madinah to ensure that pilgrims entering Madinah are free from epidemic disease.”
He said the ministry has formed field medical teams to deal with emergency situations in areas with a large concentration of pilgrims and allocated SR10 million to upgrade the clinics with new equipment.
He said adequate preventive measures have been taken to vaccinate health officials against meningitis, yellow fever, cholera, swine flu and influenza, since they move in close proximity to pilgrims who come to Madinah.
Blood banks are fully equipped with units of blood. These are electronically linked with the Central Blood Bank for liaison at times of emergency, the official said.
The ministry has deployed several ambulances in strategic areas to ferry patients to the nearest health facilities in case of emergency in coordination with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority.
The Health Education Department at the Ministry has put up billboards and eye-catching posters and has produced pamphlets with the health messages and warnings for pilgrims.
He stressed that MERS coronavirus is under control and that the ministry will not place restrictions on pilgrims on account of the virus.
However, he added that elderly people with chronic diseases are advised to postpone their pilgrimage in line with preventive measures taken by the government.
He said the Second World Congress on Mass Gathering Medicine will be held Saturday. Delegates will focus on coronavirus cases to ascertain the virus’s current prevalence. So far, 104 cases of coronavirus have been reported, with 47 fatalities.