Will swine flu lead to the omra being cancelled? Reem Leila assesses the possibilities The omra season is already underway and will reach its peak with Ramadan, when close to three million pilgrims are expected to throng to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At least 500,000 Egyptians are scheduled to take part in this year's pilgrimage, raising fears of the wide scale transmission of swine flu. On Tuesday the Ministry of Health issued a press release announcing the escalation of H1N1 cases to 41. The case is for a British citizen who arrived at Sharm Al-Sheikh International Airport from the United States. Whereas, on Monday the ministry announced that the number of cases in Egypt had reached 40 following the positive diagnosis of a 13-year-old Egyptian girl who recently arrived from the United States. So far, 28 of the 41 patents have recovered while 12 are still undergoing treatment. Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabali has set up a committee to assess the threat of the virus spreading among pilgrims. The committee's final report will be presented to Egypt's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa, who will then make a decision based on its findings. In an official statement the mufti's office raised the possibility of the omra being cancelled if it posed a serious threat to the health of pilgrims. "The grand mufti's decision will be based upon the report that is to be presented to him by the health minister. The mufti could postpone the omra, cancel the hajj for this year, reduce the number of pilgrims to a third or half, or announce there is no need for either cancellation or postponement and people can normally travel for omra and hajj," said the statement. Pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia to Egypt are likely to face strict quarantine measures, says Health Ministry spokesman Abdel-Rahman Shahin. "The Ministry of Health has agreed with the concerned authorities to use university hostels to quarantine those returning. Passengers will be taken by Health Ministry buses from the airport to the quarantine areas." According to Shahin returning pilgrims will each pay LE1,400 to cover the cost of the week-long quarantine. "The amount is very reasonable given passengers will be offered a five-star service in addition to medical care. A medical team will be at each quarantine site to take daily swabs from pilgrims for analysis." Those testing negative will be discharged from quarantine after a week. Pilgrims who test positive will be transferred to hospital. The Health Ministry has allocated 99 of the hospitals under its control to receive swine flu patients. Passengers returning from Saudi Arabia or other Gulf countries by ship will be quarantined for a week in tents. "In some places, such as Suez and Safaga, where university accommodation is unavailable, pilgrims will be housed in camps," said Shahin. Speaking to the People's Assembly's Health Committee, El-Gabali said ministry hotlines had received 21,000 enquiries from the public about swine flu. He predicted that the spread of the virus will slow down during the next few weeks only to gain momentum once summer ends. He also revealed that the military had provided the Health Ministry with 30 million masks and are planning to provide 70 million more. Mutlaq Al-Mutery, media spokesman at the Saudi Embassy in Egypt, says international airports in the kingdom are taking measures to identify any arrivals carrying swine flu. "As part of the joint steps taken by the General Authority for Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Health, thermal cameras have been installed at all international airports to help identify passengers carrying the virus," Al-Mutery said. Masks and hand gel bottles will also be distributed among passengers upon their arrival to limit the spread of any infection. "The World Health Organisation [WHO] has laid down several rules which should be strictly followed by all countries to prevent the virus spreading and the kingdom is implementing those rules. The WHO's latest instructions include strict precautionary measures to avoid receiving passengers from affected countries," said Al-Mutery. In the case of arrivals testing positive for swine flu they will be immediately transferred to a specialist hospital for treatment.
