The Assistant Minister of Health and MOH spokesman, Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdulaali, confirmed that COVID-19 symptoms vary from person to person. Hence, information should be obtained from reliable sources, mainly our health sectors.
He revealed that 468 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Kingdom, bringing the total cases to 337,711. These include 9,556 active cases, still receiving medical care. Their health status is mostly stable, with the exception of 913 critical cases.
Al-Abdulaali made this statement during the COVID-19 brief held on Wednesday, which also hosted the Spokesman of the General Presidency of Mecca's Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque, Mr. Hani bin Hosni Haider.
He pointed out that 596 cases have been recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 323,208 cases, all praise is due to Allah. Also, 24 new deaths have been reported; bringing the total deaths to 4,947. He confirmed that wearing face mask helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 and maintain the safety of individuals and community. Moreover, 52,184 new lab tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the Kingdom’s laboratories, bringing the total to 6,828,117.
For his part, Mr. Haider said that the presidency plan for Umrah season, in its first phase, is divided into four axes. These axes include: measuring Umrah performers temperature, wearing face mask, pilgrims are not allowed to take food and beverages into the Grand Mosque, checking up wheelchair pushers and making sure they are committed to all precautionary measures, and preventing access to the Kaaba and the Black Stone. In addition, 4 isolation centers are prepared to accommodate any pilgrim who shows COVID-19 symptoms, allocating the number 1966 for reporting and providing hand sanitizers devices at the Grand Mosque’s entrances.
He added that the disinfection axis includes: 4,000 workers cleanse and sterilize Tawaf and Masaa area 10 times a day before each regiment enters and after it leaves, cleaning toilets 6 times daily, sterilizing the air-conditioning systems with ultraviolet rays, cleaning air filters 9 times a day in 3 stages and using cutting-edge thermal cameras at the gates.
Mr. Haider indicated that the transportation axis includes: 520 employees to transport pilgrims to and from the Grand Mosque, keeping a safe distance of one and half meters between worshipers, allocating 4 assembly areas and ensuring implementation of all precautionary measures.
On the awareness axis, he said that it includes: allocating 30 sites for pilgrim inquiries and fatwas around the clock, providing translation services into many languages, launching the campaign “Umra performers honor our staff” in its fifth season to activate several programs for pilgrims while maintaining the precautionary measures, installing instructional posters, and publishing awareness messages on social media platforms in many languages.