JEDDAH: Avoid hugging, kissing and shaking hands when greeting. Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands. These are two of eight recommendations posted on signs at Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport greeting pilgrims arriving for Umrah during the holy month of Ramadan.
The airport’s three terminals are served with four stands provided by the Ministry of Health to monitor the passengers arriving into the country.
The stands are marked by posters, thermal cameras to detect fevers in passengers and two health officials: one to monitor the camera and the other receiving cards from visitors with details about their health conditions and addresses.
Officials are handing out informational pamphlets to passengers regarding the H1N1 virus.
Mohammad Saim Al-Dahr, a Ministry of Health official posted at the airport’s southern terminal said that passengers are obliged to fill out the health cards and hand them in before passing the health stand.
“In case of suspicion, the visitor would be transferred to King Abdul Aziz Hospital to check their health conditions,” he said.
The thermal cameras, the official pointed out, only catch people with fevers and aren’t guaranteed to catch persons with swine flu.
“When it comes to passengers carrying the H1N1 virus that have no symptoms, the camera would not detect them,” he said.
Ahmad Al-Rashidi a health official in the northern terminal said masks are being provided to health officials but not passengers.
Abdulelah Falemban, an official of King Abdul Aziz International Airport, said that only one thermal camera is manned 24 hours a day at the southern terminal. The number of passengers in 2009 increased between May and July by 6.9 percent compared to last year, putting the total number of passengers at over 1,600,000.
