MoH watches for MERS, Ebola among Haj pilgrims

September 4, 2014

MoH

Riyadh, Sep 4: As part of its strategic health program for Haj, the Ministry of Health has set up a Central Command Center to monitor the health conditions of Haj pilgrims coming from all parts of the world, a senior MoH official said here on Wednesday.

This year, the center will focus on the Ebola virus and MERS coronavirus during the pilgrimage.

“We are monitoring the movement of all incoming pilgrims at all entry points to the Kingdom with the help of our trained health officials,” Hussein Ghannam, general supervisor of the general directorate of health affairs for Haj and Umrah, said.

Ghannam was speaking to the press following the sixth meeting of the Haj preparatory committee of the MoH held on Tuesday, chaired by Mohammed Hamzah Khosheim, deputy health minister for planning and development. He added that the MoH has deployed health officials at 15 ports of entry via land, sea and air, to monitor the entry of Haj pilgrims during this season. “They are expected to take preventive and curative measures to keep infections under control.

He said that the health officials posted at the ports of entry would ensure the pilgrims had already taken the vaccination from their ports of origin as advised earlier. “If they have not done so, relevant doses will be given to them at the ports of entry so that they would be fortified with immunity against the respective diseases,” the deputy minister said. “They would be reporting any developments to the central command committee on a 24-hour basis. "

All health officials who serve the pilgrims will wear face mask during their meeting with them.

The hospitals and health care clinics in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah are fully equipped with the required manpower, ambulances, equipment and medicines for preventive and curative treatments.

The MoH, through its overseas Saudi missions, has already instructed the incoming pilgrims to produce vaccination certificates against yellow fever, meningitis, polio and influenza depending on the countries of origin. Most of the pilgrims from the African and South American continents have been advised to take vaccination against yellow fever which is endemic to these countries and vaccinations against meningitis have been made mandatory for all pilgrims since it can be spread due to congestion of people, coughing and droplets from infected people.

The official said the ministry had spelt out the quarantine regulations of the Kingdom. They include a valid certificate of vaccination against meningitis 10 days before the departure of the pilgrims to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, as well as to obtain a certificate of vaccination against polio from pilgrims coming from the disease-affected countries.

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Agencies
June 28,2020

Kuwait, Jun 28: Measures imposed to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in Kuwait are believed to have increased suicide cases in the country, according to a media report.

Forty suicide cases and 15 failed attempts, mainly among Asian expatriates, have been recorded in Kuwait since late February, Gulf News quoted the Al Qabas newspaper report, citing sources as saying on Saturday.

Investigations into the majority of cases have revealed that those who committed suicide had experienced psychological and economic troubles due to dire financial circumstances after their employers stopped to pay them as a result of economic fallout from the coronavirus-related measures.

In one case, an expat livestreamed his suicide while chatting with his fiancee on a social networking platform, the newspaper report said.

Suicide cases have increased by around 40 per cent since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, according to the sources.

Some 70 to 80 suicide cases are recorded annually in Kuwait. Last year, they reached 80 suicides against 77 in 2018.

"Suicide cases have started to go up in Kuwait during the coronavirus pandemic due to fear, anxiety, isolation and instability experienced by people and absence of daily aims that could help the person to spend time regularly as before," the newspaper quoted social psychology consultant Samira Al Dosari as saying.

Uncertainty for some expatriates, whose countries have refused to take them in, is another motive for attempting suicide, according to Jamil Al Muri, a sociology professor at the Kuwait University.

"This is in addition to greed of the iqamat traders, who have brought into the country workers in names of phantom companies and abandoned them on the streets," he added.

Starting from Tuesday, Kuwait will embark on the second phase of a stepwise plan to bring life to normal, Gulf News reportd.

According to Phase 2, a nationwide night-time curfew will be reduced by one hour to run daily from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. for three weeks.

Kuwait has so far reported 44,391 COVID-19 cases, with 344 deaths.

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Angry indian
 - 
Tuesday, 30 Jun 2020

YA ALLah save all dispressed people in the earth..

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News Network
May 21,2020

May 21: Mosques across the UAE will remain closed during Eid Al Fitr, a top official has said. The Takbeer, which is chanted before the special prayers performed on Eid, will be broadcast from mosques 10 minutes before the prayer time.

During the virtual press briefing held on Wednesday, Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson of the UAE health sector, reminded citizens and expats about the importance of adhering to the safety measures as laid out by the authorities.

Contact tracing process

"Before we began to use Al Hosn app to trace the contacts of Covid-19 cases, the tracking process used to take more than 48 hours. It also depended on the memory and honesty of people. The app is an AI-enabled methodological way to trace individuals who came in contact with Covid-19 cases so that they are isolated. It has proven to be an efficient way to stop the spread of the coronavirus," Dr Farida said.

Install the app

She called on all the public to install the app on their smart phones. "The success of the tracing system via Al Hosn app relies on its use. We hope 50 to 70 per cent of people in the UAE instal and use the app in an effective way."

No sermon

Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi, Spokesperson for the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, said there will be no sermon for the Eid prayers.

He called on everyone to welcome Eid with joy and positivity and to stay connected with their loved ones via social media.

Mass testing

Dr Amna Al Dahhak Al Shamsi, the official spokesperson of the UAE Government, said mass testing continues across the country.

She stressed on the importance of adhering to precautionary measures and cooperating with the authorities.

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News Network
February 24,2020

Dubai, Feb 24: Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, the countries' health ministries announced, adding all had come from Iran.

Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one in citizens who had returned home from the Islamic republic.

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