The Ministry of Health has made elaborate arrangements to check incoming Haj pilgrims and provide them with health care in the holy city of Makkah and at the main entry points of King Abdulaziz International Airport and the Jeddah Islamic Port.

“The Health Ministry is also equipping all hospitals in Mina Arafat and other holy sites in Makkah with the requisite facilities and medicines to attend to pilgrims,” said Abdulsalam Noorwali, director of Ministry of Health in the Makkah region. He added that maintenance and renovation jobs had been completed at all the health facilities at the holy sites in Makkah.

A special team from the ministry has inspected emergency wards and operation theaters in hospitals which will be in operation during Haj, he said.

The director also said that the ministry is in the process of establishing temporary health centers on all roads leading to Makkah. Special arrangements have been made at the health centers on Taif Road in addition to six health centers on roads connecting Makkah.

Noorwali said that these centers are working around the clock in two shifts equipped with all facilities and enabled with ambulances to move pilgrims to nearby hospitals in the event of complications.

A team of experts visited Hera General Hospital in Makkah on Wednesday to gauge the standard of services offered to patients by hospital staff.

In Jeddah, the Ministry of Health has made effective and elaborate arrangements at King Abdulaziz International Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port to screen incoming Haj pilgrims for the Corona and Ebola viruses.

“We are on the alert for corona and Ebola viruses and fully equipped to screen any pilgrim suspected of carrying the infections at the two main entry points,” Sami Badawood, director of Ministry of Health said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said the ministry has installed thermal cameras and state-of-the-art technology at the ports of entry and deployed a number of staff working around the clock to process the entry of pilgrims from abroad.

“Around 620 personnel have been posted in the health and surveillance center at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport and another 100 at the Jeddah Islamic Port for screening the pilgrims and provide them with medical aid,” Badawood said.

He added that any suspected case of coronavirus or Ebola will be referred to specialized hospitals in Jeddah for quarantine.

The Health ministry’s team is also checking arriving pilgrims for vaccinations against meningitis. Furthermore, another team from the ministry is conducting inspections of aircraft at King Abdulaziz International Airport to ensure that they have appropriate certification and are equipped with antivirus disinfectants.

The director asserted that the Ministry of Health is determined to keep Haj free from any epidemic in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.