There were no cases of communicable diseases such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (coronavirus) among this year's Haj pilgrims, Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih said here on Monday. "Health services to the guests of God during this Haj season were good and will become better in the coming years due to the ministry's integrated health services," the minister told journalists after bidding adieu to the last group of foreign pilgrims at Prince Muhammad International Airport. Al-Falih said the ministry had worked hard in a number of areas to ensure pilgrims' safety and make the Haj season free of contagious diseases. Before their arrival in the Kingdom, pilgrims are urged to follow certain health conditions, and after arrival they are given any required treatment and preventive medicine. They are also given necessary vaccinations at airport and other entry points. For this year's Haj, the ministry set up 25 specialized hospitals and 155 health centers in Makkah, Madinah and the holy sites, and deployed more than 25,000 health staff to serve pilgrims. "We are happy that not a single case of communicable disease has been reported during this Haj thanks to the health awareness campaigns we have carried out with the support of foreign Haj missions, medical teams and Haj service providers," Al-Falih told reporters. "Pilgrims are happy with our services and we can read it from their faces," he said. Last group of pilgrims to leave Makkah today The last group of 2,500 pilgrims will leave Makkah today (Wednesday) for King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah en-route to their respective homes. "This is the last group of pilgrims still remaining in Makkah," Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Haj Abdul Rahman Al-Nifaie was quoted by Makkah daily as saying. He said only hospitalized pilgrims will remain in the holy city and will leave after recovery. Close to 1.4 million pilgrims came from abroad for this year's Haj. According to the ministry, the Haj season, which started after the holy month of Ramadan, will officially be declared over Wednesday. Al-Nifaie, on the other hand, said three specialized committees, constituted by the ministry, will soon start considering violations committed by Tawafa establishments, domestic Haj companies and external service providers. He said the committees will verify the violations and decide suitable punishments. Al-Nifaie said surveillance committees of the ministry conducted between 25,000 and 30,000 field inspection tours of the Tawafa establishment and other Haj service providers. He said one of the three committees will consider violations committed by Tawafa establishments, the second will study violations of the domestic Haj companies and the third will consider the shortcomings of the external companies. He said the ministry is committed to provide excellent services to the guests of God and therefore has been closely monitoring the commitment of domestic and external Haj companies to its standing rules of offering the pilgrims with consummate services enabling them perform their Haj rites in peace, ease and comfort. "The ministry will not hesitate to punish any company or Tawafa establishment found slackening in its services. It will also reward those who have done well," he said. During the past few days, the Kingdom's airports, seaports and land borders witnessed a rush of pilgrims departing for their homes before the expiry of their Haj visas and before the official end of the Haj season. Pilgrims who may opt to remain in the Kingdom after this date will be considered as overstayers and will be dealt with according to residency laws and regulations.
