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Half a million pilgrims received medical treatment during Haj

October 14, 2014

Riyadh, Oct 14: Nearly half a million pilgrims made use of medical facilities that were available in Makkah and Madinah during Haj this year. Nineteen open heart surgeries were performed, Mansour Al-Hawasi, deputy health minister for Health Affairs, said here Sunday.

Haj MedicalAl-Hawasi was addressing health officials here during an Eid party hosted by the Ministry of Health to thank health officials who were affiliated with the Haj program in both cities.

Some 22,000 health officials were deployed in the holy cities this year, as well as at 14 ports of entry.

Offering his congratulations to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, for their unwavering cooperation in making the health program a success, the deputy minister said health officials did their part to offer the very best of services to pilgrims.

He also expressed gratitude to the World Health Organization (WHO) for its assistance in the prevention of infectious diseases.

Shoura Council member Abdul Rahman Al-Sweilem was present during the function.

Al-Hawasi said some 472,000 pilgrims availed themselves of the medical facilities at the holy sites and at the ports of entry.

He said that 329,000 pilgrims had visited medical centers in the holy sites and 111,000 had sought outpatient treatment at these clinics.

"A total of 28,000 pilgrims have sought emergency treatment, while 3,700 were admitted to various hospitals in Makkah and Madinah," he added.

Al-Hawasi pointed out that 19,000 units of blood were used to treat patients at the holy sites so far.

Some 19,000 pilgrims were given on-the-spot medical treatment at various points throughout the holy city.

According to statistics provided by the deputy minister, 988 pilgrims received dialysis treatment, while 330 underwent catheterization and 55 were given endoscopic treatment.

A comprehensive Haj health program was implemented under the leadership of the acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih this year in cooperation with the WHO.

The Health Ministry took preventive measures to combat the spread of the Ebola and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) with the help of local and international medical experts, including officials from the WHO.

This year, the Ministry of Health fielded a total of 22,000 medics and paramedics to look after the welfare of the local and foreign Haj pilgrims in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

In addition to a fleet of 100 ambulances, the ministry has also deployed some 50 mini-ambulances to be able to infiltrate crowded areas to ferry patients to nearby hospitals.

There are 141 primary health care centers, which includes 100 primary health care centers and 17 emergency centers near the Jamrat bridge.

The ministry also set up a central command center to monitor and coordinate with the health officials to serve the pilgrims who fall ill or need medical treatments during their stay in the holy cities.

The center focused on the Ebola virus and MERS-CoV during the pilgrimage.

There are 25 hospitals in the holy cities, including seven in Makkah, nine in Madinah, four in Mina and four in Arafat, in addition to King Abdullah Medical City.

There are a total of 5,250 beds in the holy cities, including 500 beds for ICU patients.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Muscat, Jan 11: Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said has died, Aljazeera reported citing state television on Friday.

Qaboos was 79-year-old and was ill for a long time. He has served as the ruler of Oman since 1970 when he ousted his father in a bloodless coup.

Qaboos had no children and has not publicly named his successor.

Sultan Qaboos travelled to Belgium for a week in December for what was described then as "medical checks." He returned to Oman but speculations of his deteriorating health were rife.

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News Network
April 18,2020

Dubai, Apr 18: Saudi Arabia has reported 1,132 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of confirmed COVID-19 patients to 8,274, the Ministry of Health revealed on Saturday.

The ministry has also announced five more deaths from the virus, taking to 92 the Kingdom’s death toll.

Recoveries
As for recoveries, 280 new recoveries were reported, pushing the total number of patients recovered to 1,329.

The ministry revealed that 79 per cent of today’s cases are expatriates and that 65 per cent of the cases were detected through intensified and active COVID-19 screening in densely-populated areas.

A total of 201 patients of Saturday’s cases have contracted the disease due to being in contact with existing cases, the ministry added.

The new infected cases have been placed under complete isolation and they are receiving necessary medical care, an official from the ministry said.

He affirmed that medical teams are intensifying efforts and screening tests in workers' neighbourhoods and accommodations in order to limit the spread of the disease.

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Agencies
July 26,2020

Jeddah, Jul 26: The city of Makkah is opening its arms again to welcome pilgrims for the annual Hajj — although only a handful compared with previous years.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event is limited to about 1,000 pilgrims, all from inside Saudi Arabia, about 700 of whom are expatriates.

Abdullah Al-Kathiri, an Emirati and a recovered COVID-19 patient, postponed his pilgrimage last year because it coincided with his wedding plans. “I’ve heard from many who’ve performed the pilgrimage in past years that it was always a smooth process, even with the massive numbers,” he said. “So you could imagine how it would be with the limited number of pilgrims this year. Surely it will be a great experience.”

Khadija, a Bulgarian expatriate, was overcome with tears when she heard she would be performing Hajj this year. “I didn’t expect they’d accept,” she said. “I’m sure this year’s Hajj will be an exceptional one in all respects.”

Dr. Haifa Yousef Hamdoon, a Tunisian physician in Qassim, is another who did not expect to be accepted because of the low numbers this year. “When I received confirmation of my request, I was overjoyed and couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Mu’taz Mohamed, a Sudanese pilgrim who also lives in Qassim region, praised the preventive and precautionary health measures taken in order to ensure his safety and that of other pilgrims, to enable them to perform the rituals safely.

After completing their arrival procedures, the pilgrims were taken to their accommodation in Makkah, supervised by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. They will stay there for four days before beginning their pilgrimage on July 30.

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