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2-pronged strategy to wipe out MERS

May 3, 2014

MERS_wipe_outRiyadh/Jeddah, May 3: Seven fresh cases of coronavirus (MERS-CoV) were reported on Friday bringing the total number of infected cases in the Kingdom to 378 including 107 deaths since September 2012.

No fatalities due to the virus have been reported in any part of the Kingdom on Friday, said a Health Ministry official.

Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih, meanwhile, said his ministry was currently focusing on a two-pronged approach to prevent and treat coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and to offer the best health care services to the people in the Kingdom.

He was addressing the directors of the 20 health regions and other concerned officials on ways to combat the disease.

Members of the National Scientific Committee for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases, officials from the ministries of interior, higher education, municipal affairs, National Guard, defense and private health sector executives attended the meeting.

According to the ministry official, the seven new cases reported during the past 24 hours included four in Riyadh and three in Jeddah.

He said four of them are stable, while two were in critical condition and undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) while the seventh patient was still under observation.

In Riyadh, three women aged 31, 28 and 50 have been affected with the disease and the fourth is a 28-year-old man who contracted the disease from an infected patient and is currently being treated at a private hospital where his condition is reported to be stable.

In Jeddah, two women of 38 and 28 years of age were reported to be infected with the virus and their condition is reported to be stable.

A 60-year-old man who is currently under treatment at a private hospital is reported to be critically ill at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital in Jeddah.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Fakeih urged his officials to make more field visits to ensure proper health care during this period of crisis.

The minister thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for his concern toward offering the best health care services to the people in the Kingdom.

Spelling out the noble practices in health services, Fakeih said the officials should pay attention to the values of sincerity, honesty, and perseverance; perfection and transparency, and provide services with a sense of dedication, kindness and love.

He also urged officials to work as a team and ensure proper coordination with the concerned officials to give the best health care to the patients.

Fakeih’s new directives came as Egypt’s Health Ministry issued a warning to children, elderly people and anyone suffering from chronic heart and chest diseases against traveling to Saudi Arabia.

The first case of the disease in Egypt was reported on Thursday, in a 27-year-old man who lives in Saudi Arabia but returned ill to Egypt last week after having been in contact with an uncle in the Kingdom who died of MERS.

In a statement, cited by Reuters, Egypt’s health ministry said that anyone under the age of 15 or older than 65, as well as pregnant women and people suffering from chronic heart and chest diseases, should postpone pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.

It further confirmed that no further MERS cases had been reported in Egypt.

The man, who contracted the virus is in stable condition, in a hospital in Cairo. Mohammad Al-Balawi, director of the information department in the Saudi embassy in Jordan, confirmed that a Saudi citizen who came to Jordan for medical treatment is inflicted with the corona virus.

He said the embassy received a call a few days ago about the presence of a Saudi patient inflicted with MERS in Al-Zaytoun hospital in Zerqa, north of Jordan.

As soon as the embassy received the call it called a number of well known hospitals in Jordan to explore the possibility of moving the patient to one of them.

These hospitals refrained from taking the patient because they have no vacant isolation rooms, said Al-Balawi said.

He said the embassy called the Jordanian Ministry of Health, which expressed its willingness to cooperate with the embassy and treat the patient in Prince Hamza hospital, which is equipped to receive such cases.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Mount Arafat, July 30: Muslim pilgrims converged Thursday on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat for the climax of this year's hajj, the smallest in modern times and a sharp contrast to the massive crowds of previous years.

A tight security cordon has been erected all around the foot of the rocky hill outside Mecca, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy.

Pilgrims, donning masks and observing social distancing, were brought in buses from neighbouring Mina, state television showed, as Saudi authorities impose measures to prevent a coronavirus outbreak.

They were subject to temperature checks and attended a sermon -- which state media said was translated into 10 languages -- before they set off on the climb to the summit for hours of Koran recitals and prayers to atone for their sins.

The scene was strikingly different to last year's ritual when a sea of pilgrims ascended Mount Arafat, marshalled by tens of thousands of stewards in a bid to prevent any crushes.

After sunset prayers, pilgrims will make their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, another holy site where they will sleep under the stars to prepare for the final stage of hajj, the symbolic "stoning of the devil".

It takes place on Friday and also marks the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice.

The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

But only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in this year's ritual, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"You are not our guests but those of God, the custodian of the two holy mosques (Saudi Arabia's King Salman) and the nation," Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten said in a video released by the media ministry on Wednesday.

Security cordon

A security cordon has been thrown around the holy sites to prevent any security breaches, an interior ministry spokesman said.

Riyadh faced strong criticism in 2015 when some 2,300 worshippers were killed in the deadliest stampede in the gathering's history.

But this year, those risks are greatly reduced by the much smaller crowd.

The pilgrims have all been tested for the virus, and foreign journalists were barred from this year's hajj, usually a huge global media event.

As part of the rites completed over five days in the holy city of Mecca and its surroundings, the pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat after spending the night in Mina.

A district of Mecca, Mina sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains, and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for pilgrims.

They began the hajj on Wednesday with their first "tawaf", the circumambulation of the Kaaba, a large structure in Mecca’s Grand Mosque towards which Muslims around the world pray.

The Kaaba is draped in a black cloth embroidered in gold with Koranic verses and known as the kiswa, which is changed each year during the pilgrimage.

Pilgrims were brought inside the mosque in small batches, walking along paths marked on the floor, in sharp contrast to the normal sea of humanity that swirls around the Kaaba during hajj.

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News Network
March 24,2020

Mar 24: Saudi Arabia has recorded its first death from the coronavirus in a 51-year-old Afghani resident, Health Ministry spokesman Mohammed Abdelali told a televised news conference on Tuesday.

The man's health deteriorated quickly after reporting to a hospital emergency room in the city of Medina and he died on Monday night, Abdelali said.

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News Network
April 2,2020

Dubai, Apr 2: A senior Saudi official urged more than 1 million Muslims intending to perform the hajj to delay making plans this year in comments suggesting the pilgrimage could be cancelled due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

In February, the kingdom took the extraordinary decision to close off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to foreigners over the virus, a step which wasn’t taken even during the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide.

Restrictions have tightened in the kingdom as it grapples with over 1,500 confirmed cases of the new virus. The kingdom has reported 10 deaths so far. The Middle East has more than 71,000 confirmed cases of the virus, most of those in Iran, and over 3,300 deaths.

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is prepared to secure the safety of all Muslims and nationals,” Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Banten told state television. “That’s why we have requested from all Muslims around the world to hold onto signing any agreements (with tour operators) until we have a clear vision.”

Saudi Arabia has barred people from entering or exiting three major cities, including Mecca and Medina, and imposed a nighttime curfew across the country. Like other countries around the world and in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has suspended all inbound and outbound commercial flights.

Each year, up to 2 million Muslims perform the hajj, a physically demanding and often costly pilgrimage that draws the faithful from around the world. The hajj, required of all able-bodied Muslims to perform once in their lifetime, is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and bring about greater humility and unity among Muslims.

Standing in Mecca in front of the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times daily, Banten also said the kingdom was already providing care for 1,200 pilgrims stuck in the holy city due to global travel restrictions. A number of them are being quarantined in hotels in Mecca, he said.

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