Egypt may ban Hajj pilgrimage as MERS virus spreads: Official

[Shiloh]

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCont...us-spread.aspx


Egypt may ban Hajj pilgrimage as MERS virus spreads: Official
Saudi Arabia has reported a number of recent cases of the potentially deadly virus
Ayat Al-Tawy , Thursday 8 May 2014

Egypt is likely to place a temporary ban on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, a former health minister said, as concerns mount over the spread of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus...

...Egypt's health ministry has already warned that elderly people, children, and those suffering from chronic heart and chest diseases should avoid travelling to Saudi Arabia as the number of deaths continues to rise.

But former health minister Mohammed Awad Tag El-Din, who is also a member of the ministry's special team working on MERS and other influenza-linked viruses, said Egypt might resort to barring pilgrims from travelling to the kingdom altogether if the "epidemic status of the virus and its development" worsened. His remarks were reported on Wednesday by independent Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm...

[Pathfinder]

Re: Egypt may ban Hajj pilgrimage as MERS virus spreads: Official

25% of pilgrimages have been cancelled, according to Egyptian Tourism Federation

By Abdel Razek Al-Shuwekhi

Cancellations of pilgrimages from Egypt to Saudi Arabia due to the coronavirus, also known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), have exceeded 25%, according to Seif Al-Imari, board member of the Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF).

The chairman of the Economic Chamber of Tourism Companies, Basil Al-Sisi, confirmed on Sunday a decline in bookings of pilgrimages, but expects numbers to be stable throughout Ramadan. ?The virus will not affect turnout for the Umrah [pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina] during the months of Shaban and Ramadan,? Al-Sisi said.
...
?720,000 pilgrims visited Saudi Arabia over the past six months, a 10% growth rate from the same period last year,? Al-Sisi said.
...
Tourism companies are abiding the instructions of the Ministry of Health not to allow those over the age of 65 or under 15 to perform Umrah in order to avoid contracting the virus.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will not allow more than 200,000 Egyptian pilgrims during the months of Shaaban and Ramadan, according Al-Sisi. ?The number of pilgrims expected during Ramadan ranges from 100,000 to 120,000,? he said.
...

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/05/19/25-cancellations-pilgrimages-saudi-arabia-due-mers-etf-board-member/

[Treyfish]

Re: Egypt may ban Hajj pilgrimage as MERS virus spreads: Official

..Tourism companies are abiding the instructions of the Ministry of Health not to allow those over the age of 65 or under 15 to perform Umrah in order to avoid contracting the virus... Good thing not that many of this age are gettin sick..