RIYADH: Summer is a traditional time for many Saudis to travel abroad, but has the swine flu pandemic affected travel plans?
Mostly not, according to Saudis who spoke to Arab News.
“Our summer plans for this year is to travel to Cairo and London,” said Abdullah Al- Ghalaiqah, pointing out that swine flu is already here. “What we fear outside the Kingdom is already inside.”
According to the latest figures, the Health Ministry has identified 53 nonfatal cases of swine flu, with most patients already treated and released.
The ministry yesterday reported five more swine flu cases. The new cases are two Filipino nurses, aged 37 and 54, a Saudi nurse aged 24 and a four-year-old Albanian girl, all of them in Riyadh. The fifth case is a 56-year-old Filipino nurse in Baha.
Most of the local cases have come from exposure to a smaller number of people who contracted the A/H1N1 virus abroad and then subsequently passed the virus to relatives or nursing staff.
Some Saudis have decided to spend the summer home; they expect the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to promote domestic tourism might offer new local options this year.
After much discussion with his family members — who eagerly wanted to travel to the UK as they usually do — Abdul Khaliq Al-Khalifa said he managed to convince them to vacation closer to home this year.
“This summer my family and I are planning to stay here,” said Al-Khalifa, adding that one of the reasons was “to get to know tour tourism spots more closely.”
Al-Ghalaiqah said the local media seem highly focused on the topic, even though there have been no known fatalities in the region of a relatively mild flu that “can be cured or avoided with precautions.”
“It doesn’t seem dangerous for healthy people,” he said. “It seems like ordinary flu, the difference being that this virus has become more active. I believe people are afraid for no good reason.”
Arwa Al-Rikabi said she and her family have no intention of canceling plans to travel to Europe. She said the media seem to be playing a role in fuelling unnecessary fear. Plus, she added, the virus is already here. “It is now a matter of fate and it has nothing to do with staying inside the country,” she said.
As of Wednesday there have been 55,867 confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide, with 249 fatalities. The US, which has the highest number of confirmed cases (21,449), has experienced 87 swine flu deaths.
Mexico, where the A/H1N1 virus first broke out, has had the highest number of fatalities: 115 people in a country with a population of about 110 million. Despite the low mortality rate, World Health Organization officials continue to point out that the virus is easily transmitted and can be dangerous to individuals with autoimmune deficiencies or other illnesses, as well as the very young and the very old.
The scientific community is concerned that the virus — which is one of many genetic variations that can be transmitted among birds, swine and humans — could easily mutate into a more dangerous strain.
The WHO in a statement has commended countries for their “frank reporting” that has allowed the scientific community to obtain “early snapshots depicting spread of the virus and the range of illness it can cause.”
Meanwhile, swine flu continues to travel the world this summer, so will many Saudi families.
