JEDDAH, 16 January 2004 — Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed yesterday inspected preparations made by various government departments for the annual Haj pilgrimage, the largest gathering of people in the world.
Speaking to reporters later, Prince Abdul Majeed, who is chairman of the Central Haj Committee, urged all government officials on Haj duty to work as one 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.
So far no cases of contagious diseases have been reported among an estimated 500,000 pilgrims who have already arrived, according to Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie.
“All precautionary measures have been taken to face any emergency,” he added. He said foreign pilgrims suffering from contagious diseases would either be sent back home or quarantined in Jeddah.
He urged health officials at entry points to intensify their inspections in order to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Al-Manie said the government had decided not to allow pilgrims from Congo this year since the African country is infected with Ebola disease.
The decision followed World Health Organization reports, Al-Watan daily quoted the minister as saying.
However, the minister pointed out that there would be no ban on Chinese pilgrims despite reports on suspected SARS cases in the country. He said that the Kingdom has advanced equipment to detect SARS.
The Health Ministry has arranged some 20 hospitals, 188 health centers and 155 ambulances to serve the health needs of pilgrims.
It will also use more than 9,500 doctors, nurses, paramedics and administrative officers. Some 600 medical students in eight colleges and 12 health institutes will take part in Haj services.
The ministry has recruited 115 medical specialists and nurses from the United States, Britain and Malaysia to work in emergency, intensive care and anesthesia units. In addition, foreign Haj missions have brought in a large number of doctors and paramedics to take care of their pilgrims.
The ministry has focused on preventive medicine by inspecting pilgrims on arrival at 24 entry points and providing them with vaccinations against infectious diseases such as meningitis and yellow fever.
It also monitors pilgrims’ health through its offices in Makkah and Madinah and in coordination with Haj missions.
There are seven modern hospitals in Makkah, six in Madinah, four in Mina, three in Arafat. In addition, there are 85 health centers in Makkah, 29 in Mina, 46 in Arafat, six in Muzdalifa and 22 in Madinah. The ministry has 75 small ambulances in the form of mobile intensive care units, which will operate round the clock apart from 80 large ambulances equipped with modern medical facilities.
Food Supply
Prince Abdul Majeed inaugurated a charity kitchen in Arafat yesterday. Established by Muhammad ibn Aboud Al-Amoudi Charity at a cost of SR7 million, the kitchen will supply 800,000 meals daily. The governor also inspected the flood water drainage system for pilgrim tents in Arafat and the arrangements for the transportation of pilgrims, especially the shuttle service for certain groups of Hajis.
Women Passport Officers
For the first time, the passport department has appointed women officers to inspect female pilgrims at checkpoints, according to Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Sajeeni, director general of the department. He said the measure was taken to facilitate the checking of women’s IDs and Haj permits.
Saudia Haj Flights
Saudi Arabian Airlines expects to transport a record number of 921,706 pilgrims for Haj this year, with 381,650 passengers from Asia and 241,480 from the Middle East, 128,200 from Africa and 170,376 from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Turkey and Switzerland.
More than two million Muslims from around the world are expected to perform Haj this year with more than half of them coming from abroad.
Last year, 1,924,000 performed Haj, according to official figures.
