New York - Mecca: Europe and the Arabs
In partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, WHO has deployed a mission to work closely with the Ministry of Health on appropriate preparedness measures to prevent any potential disease outbreaks and to provide support as needed during the Hajj season. According to the United Nations news bulletin, and we received a copy of it on Tuesday morning

Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, the organization's regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said: "Hajj this year is of great importance due to its return to normal. It is expected that the number of pilgrims will increase after 3 years of imposing special measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic."

Al-Mandhari affirmed his confidence that the Ministry of Health and all bodies concerned with Hajj spare no effort in this regard, and that the precautionary measures that ensure the safety of pilgrims to the Sacred House of God have been applied in accordance with the requirements of the international health regulations.

According to a press release posted on the WHO website, these measures include: effective surveillance to ensure that any outbreak of communicable disease among pilgrims is detected and promptly addressed, infection prevention and control, proper sanitation, food safety, vaccination, risk communication and timely response. .

The UN official said that these measures have proven effective in the past years in ensuring the safety and health of pilgrims, and no disease outbreaks or other public health problems have been reported.

Dr. Al-Mandhari added: "Although we are pleased that COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern, it still represents an ongoing health problem, and we must remain vigilant and continue to implement preventive public health measures among the pilgrims."

He expressed his wishes to all pilgrims "that their Hajj be accepted, and that they return safely to their homes after completing their spiritual journey in the Holy Land this year."