JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS

Tuesday 23 July 2013

The Health Ministry announced on Monday that no

Sick pilgrims are being taken to a public hospital in Makkah in this file photo. This Ramadan season, health officials say no contagious disease had been spotted Umrah pilgrims.

“The health condition of pilgrims is very good,” said Khaled Mirghalani, the ministry’s spokesman.

He said the Health Department in the Makkah region has been providing good health care for pilgrims since the beginning of Ramadan, mobilizing its manpower and material resources for the service.

There are eight hospitals in Makkah including King Abdullah Medical City to serve pilgrims, in addition to primary health-care centers inside and outside the Grand Mosque.

During the first 12 days of Ramadan, hospitals in Makkah handled 7,058 emergency cases mostly related to sunstroke and chronic diseases. “About 170 pilgrims were admitted to hospitals and most of them left hospitals,” the spokesman said.
The ministry had earlier issued its health advice to pilgrims, requesting people over 65, patients suffering from chronic diseases, pregnant women and children below 12 to postpone their Umrah.

Dr. Yaseen Mohammed Malawi, CEO of King Abdullah Medical City in Makkah, has disclosed plans to establish its branch outside the Haram border in order to make use of outstanding non-Muslim specialists. “Work on the new building along the Makkah-Jeddah Highway will start soon after Haj,” he said.

Source: ARABNEWS http://www.arabnews.com/news/458894