MINA, 30 December 2006 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) assisted 269 sick pilgrims to perform Haj this year. The pilgrims, in-patients at the MOH hospitals in Makkah, Madinah, Mina and Arafat, were taken to Arafat yesterday. “This action was taken to fulfill an essential and major requirement of Haj; Haj can’t be completed without it,” said Dr. Khaled Al Marghalani, the MOH spokesman and the head of MOH Haj Media Committee.
He said that this humanitarian gesture on the part of the MOH was motivated by the desire to fulfill, what for many of the patients, were lifelong dreams and possibly the one and only chance they would ever get to perform Haj. Falling sick, he said, should not if at all possible, be an obstacle.
Standing in Arafat, on the 9th day of the month of Dul Hijjah, even for a short while, is a must for each pilgrim before he can consider his Haj complete. “Only then can he proceed to Muzdalifah and Mina for three days to stone the three Satans,” Al-Marghalani added.
The patients were transferred from their hospitals in a fleet of specially-equipped MOH ambulances and were escorted by trained medical teams.
Al-Marghalani said that the sick pilgrims were allowed to go to Arafat after passing the appropriate medical assessments that indicated that there would be no harm in taking them. Critical cases and those that, on medical advice, could not be moved remained behind.
Blood Tests for Drivers
Applicants for the job of driving pilgrim-laden buses were, for the first time, had their blood tested before being accepted for employment. Ibrahim Al Omar, director general of laboratories and blood banks at MOH and the head of technical supervision on laboratories and blood banks in Haj announced the new procedure in Makkah yesterday.
“Our toxicology centers and forensic chemistry labs at both Makkah and Madinah tested around 3210 blood samples,” he said, “only 11 proved positive for narcotics.”
He told Arab news that the introduction of this test was arranged between the General Union of Cars — which is chiefly concerned with pilgrim transport during Haj and Umrah seasons — and the MOH.
