WHO lauds KSA for preventing infectious diseases during Haj

Arab News
July 15, 2017

Riyadh, Jul 15: The Kingdom is well prepared to handle any infectious disease during the Haj season, according to a senior official at the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Haj pilgrimage draws 2-4 million Muslims every year, including 1.5-2 million foreigners, raising the risk of diseases such as dengue, yellow fever, the Zika virus, meningococcal disease and cholera.

Dominique Legros, a WHO cholera expert, told a regular UN briefing that Saudi Arabia receives pilgrims from endemic countries, and it manages to prevent outbreaks by ensuring appropriate living and hygiene conditions. “They are well prepared in my view.”

Meanwhile, the Kingdom announced that vaccination against meningitis is mandatory for all local and international Haj pilgrims, while flu shots are recommended for their own safety.

According to a Health Ministry official, the Foreign Ministry has issued a circular to all Saudi missions abroad to follow health requirements of the Kingdom when issuing Haj visas to pilgrims.

He said health requirements for this year focus on several diseases such as the Zika virus, dengue, Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (MERS), yellow fever, cholera, meningitis and polio. He said that vaccinations should be taken at least 10 days before pilgrims arrive in the Kingdom.

He said vaccinations against meningitis are valid for three years. If infected, pilgrims coming from affected areas can cause an outbreak during the Haj season, he added.

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KT
April 14,2020

Dubai, Apr 14: Saudi Arabia reported 435 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 5369, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.

According to the ministry of health the number of recoveries today are 84 cases, making total of recoveries in the kingdom 889.

The ministry also confirmed 8 deaths bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 73.

Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew and lockdown on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar. This week the curfew was extended until further notice.

Containment efforts
Saudi authorities are racing to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Mecca, home to 2 million people, reached 1,050 on Monday compared to 1,422 in the capital of Riyadh, a city more than three times the size. Mecca’s large number of undocumented immigrants and cramped housing for migrant workers have made it more difficult to slow the infection rate.

Saudi Arabia has reported one of the lowest rates of infection in the region, with around 5,000 cases in a population of over 30 million.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Dubai, Jan 10: Iran denied on Thursday that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran had been hit by a missile, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement, according to state TV.

"All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran. All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box".

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KT
April 21,2020

Abu Dhabi, Apr 21: The UAE has reported a further 490 new coronavirus infections, after conducting more than 30,000 new tests, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients to 7,755.

According to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), three more coronavirus deaths have been confirmed, taking to 46 the country’s death toll.

The ministry revealed that it conducted more than 30,000 additional COVID-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents, using state-of-the-art technology in line with its plans to intensify virus screening in order to bring COVID-19 under control.

The accelerated investigative measures resulted in the detection of 490 new coronavirus cases among various nationalities, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care.

The deceased are of Asian nationalities and had pre-existing conditions coinciding with being infected with coronavirus, which resulted in complications that led to their death.

The ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

The ministry also announced the full recovery of 83 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking to 1443 the total of those now recovered from the virus in the UAE.

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