In a joint press conference held in this holy city of Makkah to cast light on the performance of their pertinent governmental agencies, senior officials reassured reporters today, as pilgrims have completed ascending to Arafat mount and stayed the day in the valley, peak of Hajj, as per tradition of Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), that the plan of ascending and regrouping the pilgrims went as smooth and successful as planned. Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammad Al-Abdalaai, confirmed that the health situation of pilgrims is reassuring, as no cases of coronavirus have been registered today or any other diseases affecting public health, while no deaths were reported among pilgrims. The health ministry official underlined that the presence of a high number of people requires a more cautious approach than usual to take preventive and health measures, citing the recent WHO praise of the Kingdom with regard to its level of readiness and ability to manage this year's Hajj. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Hisham bin Saeed added that a total of 485 individuals sought medical assistance at clinics in addition to 188 who checked in at the emergency, while 18 cases were hospitalized, including seven in intensive care, 17 cases of heat stress, and five successful cardiac catheterization operations performed. For his part, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior Col. Talal Al-Shalhoub stated that the movement of pilgrims to Arafat lasted for only four hours. The authorities have spotted and apprehended several violators of Hajj regulations who tried to illegally enter the holy sites, he added. Regarding the weather conditions and rain chances, he stressed that the competent authorities in the holy sites are constantly monitoring the climatic situation and have put plans to deal with any emergency case that might emerge during Hajj rituals. For his part, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah explained that the movement and grouping of pilgrims from Mina to Arafat were completed with ease via a safe transport service through more than 2,700 shuttle trips according to the present schedule. Pilgrims were distributed in Arafat to four bands, each band marked with a specific color as a regulatory measure, he added.
