Several foreign workers in Jeddah hotels were found to be suffering from deadly AIDS disease. Random medical checks conducted by Jeddah Mayoralty and Health Affairs on foreign workers in restaurants found 14 workers HIV positive and 68 others suffering from Hepatitis B and C. The joint committee has made these inspection tours to verify the authenticity of the health certificates obtained by these workers which showed that they are epidemic free. Ironically, the scanned workers were licensed on the basis of health certificates they had produced before relevant authorities. Out of 8,180 workers scanned by the committee 6,114 were found without health certificates and the remaining 1,198 workers had expired health certificates. Several private medical centers have been functioning although they had been sealed off by the Ministry of Health, the joint committee found. Concerned officials are now reviewing the regulations governing the issuance of health certificates by these centers with an objective of tightening control over them. Health officials conduct periodic checks to report and punish restaurants and hotels having sub-standard facilities with regard to hygiene and cleanliness. - Okaz __
