UAE to send medical teams to airports to provide healthcare advice to Hajj pilgrims
The Ministry of Health and Prevention is to send teams to airports in the UAE to ensure Hajj pilgrims are informed about how to avoid infectious diseases, state news agency Wam reported yesterday.
THENATIONAL: The Ministry of Health and Prevention is to send teams to airports in the UAE to ensure Hajj pilgrims are informed about how to avoid infectious diseases, state news agency Wam reported yesterday.
The specialist staff will accompany pilgrims before they depart the country and will “provide essential health guidance and outline precautions to be taken before and during travel, and throughout the Hajj pilgrimage”, Wam reported. Teams will also ensure pilgrims are vaccinated against infections and screened for chronic illnesses.
The plan is part of the ministry’s Safe Healthy Hajj awareness campaign.
Saudi Arabia is expected to host more than two million pilgrims for Hajj after lifting all Covid-19 restrictions.
Among them will be 100 healthcare workers who played a crucial role in the UAE’s efforts to tackle the pandemic.
The authorities flew the group to Makkah on Saturday.
The move was taken under the directive of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, the government’s humanitarian arm.
On Saturday, crowds of Muslims circumambulated the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
Thousands prayed outside the mosque. The area was dotted with ambulances, mobile clinics and fire engines as part of efforts to ensure the pilgrimage runs smoothly.
“I cannot describe my feelings,” Indonesian student Yusuf Burhan, 25, told AFP.
“This is a great blessing. I never imagined that I would perform the Hajj this year.”
Pilgrims yesterday began to travel to Mina, the world’s largest tent city, where officials have prepared by boosting supplies and security teams. The UAE has flown 100 healthcare workers crucial to the country’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic to Saudi Arabia to take part in Hajj.
The gesture was made in an effort to honour those who worked in the nation’s hospitals and clinics to respond to the public health crisis which swept around the world.
The trip was taken under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, the government’s humanitarian arm, state news agency Wam reported.
The delegation from the Frontline Heroes Office left Abu Dhabi International Airport for Makkah on Saturday.
The charitable initiative was overseen by the office and ERC in collaboration with the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments.
“In recognition of their efforts in defending society, the Hajj mission comprises 100 heroes who worked on the front lines in the health sector during the Covid-19 outbreak,” Wam reported. The Frontline Heroes Office was established in July 2020, at a time when hundreds of Covid-19 infections were being recorded each day.
The Frontline Heroes Office aims to raise awareness of the key role played by frontline workers during crises and emergencies, while also looking after their needs, addressing their priorities and drawing up strategies to support them.
In May 2020, President Sheikh Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time, praised on medical workers for leading the country’s response to the coronavirus.
“God bless you all. I would like to thank everyone in this [health] sector in person but please send them all my regards,” he said.
“We are proud in front of the entire world of how we responded to this challenge. Today you are the UAE’s source of pride.”
In September 2021, The National reported that more than 1,800 children of frontline health care workers had received scholarships under the Hayyakum grant scheme, which gives them access to high-quality education in public schools across the UAE.
