The health minister has assured the Cabinet that the swine flu situation in the Kingdom is “under control and there is nothing to worry about.” In a report presented to the Council of Ministers, Monday, Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al-Rabeah said that the severity of the disease is “light or medium” in most of the people affected and that “the rate of recovery has reached more than 90 percent.” By the end of last week, Saudi Arabia registered four deaths from the A-H1N1 swine pandemic and the number of people infected rose to 595. Dr. Al-Rabeah assured the Cabinet, chaired by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, that the Ministry of Health was making every effort to prevent the spread of the pandemic in the Kingdom. The Cabinet expressed its condolences to the families of the four who died of the A-H1N1 virus that has killed, according to the World Health Organization, more than 800 people worldwide and infected at least 134,500 others. Dr. Khalid Bin Muhammad Al-Anqari, Minister of Higher Education and Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet also stressed the need for everyone in the Kingdom, both citizens and expatriates, to strictly abide by the preventive measures recommended by the Ministry of Health to curtail the spread of swine flu in Saudi Arabia. On other matters, the Cabinet was briefed on the outcome of the meeting last week in Washington between Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton which focused on US efforts to revive the faltering Arab-Israeli peace talks, including the recent visits to the region by George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East. Prince Naif briefed the Cabinet on his meeting with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Muhammad Taha and the talks held by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Holy Mosques, and Crown Prince Sultan with the leaders of friendly countries. The Cabinet was also heard a report on the preparations under way to receive and serve Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
