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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Health Ministry Provides Services to More Than 216,000 Pilgrims at Kingdom’s Ports

Pilgrims arrive from Malaysia at Madinah airport. Asharq Al-Awsat

The Saudi Ministry of Health has provided medical services to 216,981 pilgrims who entered the Kingdom via land, air, and seaports, from the beginning of the pilgrims' arrival until Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday.

According to the ministry, a total of 10,101 pilgrims received preventive treatment for meningitis, 31,936 were given the polio vaccine, and 12,145 were given the yellow fever vaccine.

The ministry added that the number of incoming pilgrims who received medical services at the airports until last Monday amounted to 209,865, 97% of the total arrivals through all ports, while the number of pilgrims who received treatment and preventive services through the land ports reached 4,626 (2%).

The number of incoming pilgrims who received medical services at seaports stood at 2,490, amounting to 1% of the total arrivals.

According to SPA, the ministry added that the number of arriving pilgrims who adhered to the health requirements of meningitis reached 211,826 pilgrims (98% of the total arrivals), and the number of pilgrims who adhered to the health requirements of oral polio reached 3,137 pilgrims (100% compliance), and the number of those who adhered to the health requirements of yellow fever amounted to 11,522 (95% of the total arrivals).

The Ministry of Health, during this year’s Hajj season, prepared its health facilities in Makkah, the Holy Sites, and Madinah to provide medical services to pilgrims, SPA said. These include 25 hospitals, supported by 156 health centers, with a clinical capacity of up to 5,000 beds, of which 1,053 beds are allocated for intensive care, and 241 beds allocated for heat stroke cases.

The Ministry added that it has deployed 25,000 qualified health practitioners to serve the pilgrims, in addition to setting up medical stations on the Al-Mashaer Train and the Al-Haramain Train, and intensified its efforts in the central area of the Holy Mosque in Makkah, as well as providing 180 ambulances, and 17 emergency centers on the Jamarat Bridge facility in Mina.

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