With the Haj pilgrimage less than a month away, doctors are urging travelers as well as residents in the Kingdom to adopt preventive measures well in advance to avoid pneumococcal disease (PD). According to medical research, mass gatherings are associated with the spread of the infectious disease. Director of Saudi[…]
Over the past few summers, as millions of Muslims set off on the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, members of the health community have speculated about whether this will be the year when religion and a new virus collide for a big, deadly outbreak. Recently, the bug in[…]
The General Directorate for Health Affairs in Madinah on Monday unveiled an integrated plan for this year’s Haj to enable pilgrims perform their religious rituals in a healthy and infection-free environment. “We have completed the health plan to achieve the best level of performance of health services for pilgrims, workers[…]
Putting final touches on preparations to receive millions of pilgrims from around the world, the officials in the Grand Mosque in Makkah have revealed that the fourth floor or mataf, or circumambulation area around the Kaaba, will be ready before hajj next September. “We have increased the capacity of the[…]
The Kingdom will not tolerate — as it did not do in the past — any activity that undermines Haj rituals. Any conduct contrary to regulations and directives in place for the pilgrimage will be dealt with firmly. Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Chairman of the Supreme[…]
Muslims have started arriving in Saudi Arabia to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam amidst health concerns as the kingdom continues to struggle to contain the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus that erupted in June 2012. The pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia which includes visits to the holiest sites in[…]
More than 200 hujaaj left the shores of Cape Town over the past weekend during the first phase of departures for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, with a further 100 departing during the early hours of Monday morning. Capetonians will this year fill around 800 of the 2000 person quota afforded[…]
With Capetonians expected to flood Cape Town International Airport as the haj departures begin, hujaaj and their families are urged to obey airport regulations. The call comes as the haj season gets underway, with the first batch of Cape hujjaj set to depart on Friday. About 800 pilgrims will use[…]
It is imperative prospective hujjaj clarify the terms of their package prior to signing any agreements with hajj operators, according to the South African Hajj Operators Association (Sathoa). The advice comes with little under a month before Muslims the world over descended upon the holy cities of Makkah and Madina[…]
The Ministry of Haj on Sunday distributed camp sites for local Haj companies in Mina to prepare accommodation for pilgrims who stay in the tent city for up to five days during the pilgrimage. The ministry’s undersecretary, Hussein Al-Sharif, said the companies were allotted tents and specific locations early this year[…]
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