The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health has announced a series of measures to ensure the health and well being of Haj pilgrims this year
The ministry of installed 208 additional fans in Makkah and its holy sites for better ventilation and to provide Haj pilgrims relief from the summer heat. Haj is predicted to see high temperatures this year and the ministry has equipped a number of its facilities in Makkah and Madinah to handle heat exhaustion and sunstroke by providing proper ventilation through water sprinkling fans which reduce high temperatures.
A spokesperson for the ministry said that 79 new beds have been added to the Al-Ansar Hospital in Madinah bringing the total capacity of the hospital to 216. He pointed out that there were four hospitals each in Arafat and Mina. In addition to these, there are 80 primary health care centres in Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah, which will receive pilgrims during Haj. There are 28 health centres in Mina, 46 in Arafat and six in Muzdalifa. The facilities at these centres were updated by the ministry last year.
Health officials have also been assigned at 15 ports of entry for land, sea and air to monitor the health conditions of pilgrims. “They are expected to take preventative and curative measures to keep infections under control,” the official said. The health officials at the ports of entry will ensure that pilgrims have had vaccinations before arriving. Daily reports will be sent by the health officials to the Central Command Committee. The functions of the Haj committees have been interlinked through an electronic network to ensure integrated health care services, the official said.
The ministry is also running an awareness programme where officials will urge pilgrims to focus on personal hygiene and hygienic cooking, storing, transporting and serving methods which are important to avoid illnesses. Pilgrims have been urged to wear cloth masks during the performance of various Haj rituals.
