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To date, there are already 51 people who died of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
Khalid al-Mirghalani, spokesperson of the ministry, has assured everyone that at present, there were no recorded cases of MERS contamination in any of the areas of pilgrimage. They are taking all the necessary precautions and have set up testing labs for suspected cases. If someone is tested as a positive carrier, he will automatically be isolated to avoid adding more injury to the epidemic.
MERS symptoms include pneumonia, fever, and coughing. The number of fatalities has reached 51 Thursday when two men from Riyadh aged 55 and 78 had died after being infected with the virus.
The haj pilgrimage, an annual event among Muslims, will begin on Monday. More than 1.6 million haj pilgrims coming from outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have so far already reached Mecca. In 2012, about 1.73 million haj pilgrims were present.
While it’s true that several cases of people contracting the virus have been reported across the Middle East, Britain, Tunisia, Italy, Germany, and France, most of these cases have were from Saudi Arabia.
As the day of the haj pilgrimage draws nearer, the ministry has launched an advisory campaign to let people know how they can avoid spreading the virus. One of them talks about the importance of frequent hand washing with soap and water. The other promotes wearing of a face mask to cover their nose and mouth.
The ministry also deployed 22,000 health workers to help sick or injured pilgrims. The number, which includes nurses, doctors, and administrative staff, is said to be 3,000 higher than the previous years.
