MINA: The current Hajj season has been epidemic-free, said Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah.
Under directives from the king and crown prince, the Health Ministry has mobilized its human and material resources to provide preventive, therapeutic and emergency services to pilgrims, Al-Rabiah added.
With more than 2 million pilgrims, this year’s Hajj season was the biggest yet, he said. Accordingly, the ministry has started developing and increasing the number of health facilities in Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites, he added.
The ministry’s undersecretary for public health, Dr. Hani bin Abdul Aziz, said some 1,714,000 pilgrims were medically screened at all entry points, while 1,520,000 — 88.07 percent of foreign pilgrims — were vaccinated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed satisfaction over the ministry’s measures to ensure a safe Hajj season.
WHO representative Dr. Ibrahim Al-Zaiq said high temperatures were behind an increase in the number of pilgrims affected by heat stress, but the ministry was fully prepared for this.