Cairo, July 21: Egypt has become the latest country to warn vulnerable Muslims not to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, after a woman returning from Saudi Arabia became the first Egyptian to die from swine flu.
The health ministry “has warned the elderly, pregnant women, children and those suffering from chronic illness not to perform the hajj or omra pilgrimages,” the official MENA news agency reported late Monday.
As well as the annual hajj, which all Muslims are required to make once in a lifetime if they have the means, the faithful can also make a lesser pilgrimage to the holy places, known as omra, at any time of the year.
Upwards of two million people are expected in Saudi Arabia over the next five months on pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
The ministry “has asked them to delay taking part so that they are not exposed to the risks… of swine flu,” MENA quoted health ministry official Amr Qandil as saying.
The warning came ahead of a meeting of Arab health ministers in Cairo on Wednesday to coordinate arrangements and precautions to be taken during the pilgrimage season.
Egypt on Sunday reported its first death linked to swine flu after a 25-year-old woman returning from a Saudi pilgrimage died in hospital.
Egypt’s top cleric or mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, said he would not issue a decree barring Egyptians from making the pilgrimage, but health officials said all returning pilgrims would be quarantined.
Saudi Arabia in June warned elderly Muslims and pregnant women against undertaking the hajj because of the threat of swine flu and Oman issued a similar warning on July 6.
Tunisia earlier this month suspended omra pilgrimages because of the virus, but reserved judgement on whether the main hajj pilgrimage should be undertaken in November.
–Agencies