RIYADH: Five hundred health volunteers will help look after pilgrims during this year’s Hajj, Saudi health authorities said.

The health ministry’s health volunteer center said the volunteers would provide medical assistance and health precaution guidance to those performing the annual pilgrimage, which starts this weekend.

The volunteers will operate in four locations: Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif.

Director-general of the health volunteer center, Dr. Safar bin Saad Battar, described the volunteers as “heroes of giving.” 

He said the volunteer program was important because of the impact the health volunteers  made during Ramadan, when more than 1.5 million people visited the Grand Mosque in Makkah. 

The health volunteers completed a training program accredited by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties. 

The volunteer program is a partnership with the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance. 

The coronavirus pandemic means just 60,000 people from within the Kingdom will perform Hajj this year.