Makkah, Saudi Arabia: Officials in Saudi
Arabia are raising alarm that the kingdom is not doing enough to prevent
Makkah from becoming a route for exporting an often deadly respiratory
virus as millions of Muslims from around the world converge on the city
to perform pilgrimage at Islam’s holiest site.
The calls have taken on
greater urgency as Saudi Arabia struggles to contain a surge in
infections from the Middle East respiratory syndrome, or Mers.
The country has seen the most
infections worldwide by far — more than 500 since 2012 — and in past
weeks the numbers have accelerated with several deaths reported nearly
every day and new infections often numbering in the double digits.
So far Makkah, near the western Red Sea coast, has seen fewer cases than other parts of Saudi Arabia....
Experts say the Saudi Health Ministry needs
to move faster to create more public awareness, promote more aggressive
testing in hospitals and take better precautions among medical staff —
who have made up a significant proportion of those infected because of
improper conditions.
Makkah sees a constant stream
of pilgrims throughout the year from around the world, and their
numbers swell during Ramadan, which begins in late June.
The Haj pilgrimage — which
Islam says is a duty of all able-bodied Muslims to perform once in their
lives — brings even more gigantic crowds: More than 2 million pilgrims
from all over the world, packed into the close quarters as they visit
the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, and other locations in and around
Makkah for a period of around five days. This year, Haj starts in early
October.
Also, most of the
international pilgrims travel to Makkah through the closest
international airport, in the coastal city of Jeddah, which has seen far
more cases.
Notably, no posters warning
of the virus or giving visitors information on how to prevent its spread
are visible through Jeddah airport or at the Grand Mosque in Makkah,
where pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba.
The Haj Ministry’s website,
which many international pilgrims refer to for information, makes no
mention of Mers or special precautions.
The Health Ministry’s
website, however, advises people over 65, children under 12 and those
who are ill to delay their pilgrimage.
“Makkah is a location for
people from all over the world with all kinds of problems that could be
spread all over,” said Adnan Al Bar, a member of Saudi Arabia’s top
consultative body, the Shura Council, at a recent summit in Jeddah on
development in the holy city.
Since the beginning of April, Makkah has seen 21 new confirmed cases — including one Turkish pilgrim — and four deaths.
Over the same time period,
there have been 114 new infections in Jeddah and 23 deaths. Asia saw its
first Mers death last month, when a Malaysian man who went on
pilgrimage to Makkah and passed through Jeddah in March returned home
and was found to have been infected.
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz
last month replaced the health minister in a sign of displeasure over
efforts to control the virus’ spread.
The new minister, Adel Faqih,
visited health workers in Jiddah on Wednesday and told them the
coronavirus was spreading in part because hospitals are not taking
anti-infection measures.
Only one medical facility in
Makkah — the King Abdullah Medical City — is equipped to handle Mers
cases, according to Esmail Mohammad, the director-general of another
hospital in the city, Umm Al Qura.
“Makkah is almost considered to be free” of the virus, he said. But he warned steps have to be taken to ensure it remains so.
Government policies have
largely “only been reactive” greater patient education is needed” and
there is still no “overall orientation [of anti-Mers policy] toward the
pilgrims.”
Preparations, he said, are only on “an ad hoc basis.”
Al Bar, who served for years
as Makkah’s general health director, said the Health Ministry should be
overhauled to become less bureaucratic and that Makkah’s medical
infrastructure needs a rapid transformation. Already, it does not have
enough facilities to provide primary care for pilgrims.
“The current health care system in the Makkah does not cover half of the needed services,” he said.
Fortunately, Mers is not
highly contagious — person-to-person spread has been seen only in close
contacts, like family members or health care workers who care for an
infected person.
The World Health Organisation
said Wednesday the virus does not yet constitute a global health
emergency. Worldwide, WHO has confirmations of at least 572 cases,
including 173 deaths. The vast majority has been in Saudi Arabia — 160
dead and 514 confirmed cases since 2012, according to government
figures.
Mers often starts with
flu-like symptoms but can lead to pneumonia, breathing problems and in
severe cases, kidney failure and death. Scientists are unsure exactly
how people are catching Mers but suspect the disease is linked to
camels.
Pilgrims are largely undaunted.
Sharihan Abdul Mufti, a 61 year-old Egyptian pilgrim, wore a blue surgical mask around the Grand Mosque that houses the Kaaba.
It is her first time to visit
Makkah and she wanted to be careful, but she says the chance to pray at
the base of the Kaaba supersedes any concerns about the virus.
“Is there anything more beautiful after this?” she said. “I hope to come every year.” http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudis-question-makkah-preparedness-as-mers-spreads-1.1333605
