Skip to main content

Saudis Question Mecca Preparedness as MERS Spreads

CBN

Share This article

Officials in Saudi Arabia are urging the kingdom's Health Ministry to do more to control the spread of an increasingly prevalent and often deadly respiratory virus in Mecca, where millions of Muslims from around the world converge year-round to perform pilgrimage and visit Islam's holiest site.
 
The calls have taken on greater urgency in recent weeks as Saudi Arabia struggles to contain a surge in infections from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. The country has seen the most infections worldwide by far. Daily official reports now frequently record multiple deaths and new confirmed infections often numbering in the double digits.
 
Health experts fear that the large number of international visitors passing through Mecca could play a growing role in exporting the virus if more precautions are not taken. Many pilgrims visiting the holy city now wear surgical masks to help prevent infection.

Share This article