SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi authorities set up health procedures at the "Pilgrim City" section of Jeddah's international airport, in preparation for receiving this year's millions of Haj and Umrah pilgrims from abroad

Record ID: 188969

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi authorities set up health procedures at the "Pilgrim City" section of Jeddah's international airport, in preparation for receiving this year's millions of Haj and Umrah pilgrims from abroad
  • Date: 30th April 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 15th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Health,People,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAA1JW5H1KOK78F2ILSWW6XZVIL
  • Story Text: Preparations were underway at Jeddah international airport's "Pilgrim City" on Tuesday (April 24) ahead of this year's Umrah and Haj pilgrimages, as Saudi authorities said they have set up health-check facilities to keep out diseases.
    Every year, authorities say, over 1.5 million foreign nationals travel to the Gulf nation to perform the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca which takes outside the main Haj season.
    As the Umrah season nears, the government has set up facilities at the airport and assigned a medical team to provide assistance and medical examinations.
    "Our health plan is based on the implementation of preventative action and treatment for all pilgrims without exception. The plan includes a monitoring role, and we have assigned 170 medical and health worker for the pilgrimage season, to work 24 hours a day to provide services to all Umrah and Haj pilgrims without exception," said Abdulghani al-Malke, Director of Health Control Centre at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, the closest international terminal to Mecca.
    "We investigate what diseases are endemic in all countries around the world, and there are strict health requirements which we implement on all travellers to prevent the introduction or spread of a disease to the Holy Land, God forbid," he added.
    The Umrah, or lesser pilgrimage, can be performed at any time but is popular just before and during Ramadan.
    As pilgrim numbers have shot up over the past three decades, carefully managing health and security during the pilgrimage seasons has become crucial for the image of a monarchy that styles its king Custodian of the Two Holy Sites -- a reference to the sacred precincts in Mecca and Medina where the Prophet Mohammad set up the first Muslim administration.
    "Last year we had cases of swine flu and the year before there was SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). A number of such cases passed through the airport, but we have qualified people to handle all such cases. We have competent staff members who have been trained, they are qualified to deal with such cases," al-Malke said.
    Umrah rites are confined to central Mecca, and its undertaking is not compulsary in Islam. The main Haj pilgrimage will this year take place in October. It is one of the five basic obligations of a Muslim, and must be performed at least once in a lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who has the means.
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