RIYADH: The Ministry of Health’s toll-free swine flu hotline has been receiving about 3,000 inquiries a day, according to the ministry’s spokesman.
“The center is inundated with calls from people from all walks of life,” Dr. Khalid Al Mirghalani told Arab News on Tuesday.
The hotline (800-249-4444) is available to respond to queries from the public on matters related to swine flu. Fifteen specialists are manning the phones during weekday working hours at a call center near the Riyadh Airbase.
“(Callers) want to know preventive methods, treatment and curative measures that can be adopted to fight against this flu,” said the spokesman, adding that about 70 percent of the calls are coming from within the Kingdom. “We are happy that we are able to reach the masses through this effective mode that has helped both the ministry and the public.”
He explained that callers are treated with strict confidentiality.
The spokesman also said the Ministry of Health set up this week an electronic network to connect all 20 health regions in the Kingdom to monitor the movement of swine flu.
“A total of 500 mobile surveillance machines have been distributed among health officials and prominent community leaders in all parts of the Kingdom and we are now training them as to how they should handle these machines.”
