Saudi precautions protect Hajj pilgrims from Ebola

SOUTH Africans who will be travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage should not worry about contracting the deadly Ebola virus.

This comes after the Saudi Ministry of Health issued a statement on their website saying they have imposed a ban on people entering the country from affected regions such as Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Locally, the South African Hajj and Umrah Council (Sahuc) said the organisation was on high alert but everything seems to be on track for pilgrims travelling to Saudi in October.

This year, more than 2 000 South African pilgrims are expected to travel to Mecca to complete the Hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam.

It is deemed compulsory for those who are physically and financially able to make the trip.

More than three million people from around the world perform Hajj every year.

“Everybody should be concerned about Ebola but since there are no Ebola cases in South Africa, this is a good sign for us. The fact that the Saudi government imposed a ban on those entering the country from affected areas gives us reassurance that precautions are being taken,” said Shaheen Essop, spokesman for Sahuc.

He said the Saudi Health Ministry is strict in terms of health and safety and he is confident that the proper precautionary measures have been put in place.

Essop also said that Sahuc has a well-trained medical team which accompanies pilgrims to Saudi Arabia every year and he is confident nothing will go wrong.

“The team is well guided by the World Health Organisation, hence there is no need to panic. Pilgrims should take whatever precautionary measures they feel is necessary to protect themselves if they do not feel safe,” said Essop.

However, Dr Stephen Knight, principal specialist in Public Health Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said that despite the bans on affected countries, there is still a potential for travellers to bypass the bans if they really wanted to go on pilgrimage.

“There’s the potential that people from the affected countries could go to neighbouring countries and travel from there, hence pilgrims should still be on high alert,” said Knight.

He advises pilgrims travelling to Saudi to take health and safety precautions such as washing their hands and avoiding contact with bodily fluids.