Egypt's Ministry of Tourism said its preparations for the new season of Hajj are normal even though the World Health Organization (WHO) swine flu alert to the sixth and maximum level. Osama al-Ashry, the ministry's first undersecretary and general supervisor of pilgrimage, said the other bodies supervising Hajj, namely the ministries of interior and social solidarity, also make normal preparations to end the procedures of Hajj in accordance with the outcome of the recent meeting by the Supreme Hajj Committee, headed by the Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.
The tourism sector will immediately abide by any decision by the Egyptian Ministry of Health or the Saudi authorities with regard to Hajj. The same thing applies to Umrah (minor pilgrimage), especially as the Saudi authorities did not stop receiving the Umrah performers.
The pilgrims will perform Hajj after five months, a long time during which the world situations may change, Al-Ashry said, reaffirming his commitment to any decision by the Egyptian and Saudi authorities.
For his part, Basil al-Sisi, board member of Egypt's Chamber of Travel Agencies, said the WHO raising swine flu alert to the sixth and maximum level is like a flood that will destroy the remaining travel agencies, especially as hotel occupancies reached their lowest levels in May and June 2009.
Al-Sisi called on the Tourism Ministry to postpone the deadline for receiving applications for Hajj from travel agencies from June 20 to July 20. Raising swine flu alert to the sixth level will cause heavy losses to travel agencies preparing for Umrah, especially as they have already made some preparations, such as booking hotels and paying down payments to hotels and airlines.
Travel agencies booked hotels on the basis of the previous years' rates, some 300,000 Umrah performers. But in the current situation, this number will not increase to 20%. Therefore, the government should intervene to protect the Egyptian travel agencies, especially as it is the WHO, which raised the alert level, he added. On the other hand, the official website of the Saudi Ministry of Hajj said Ali al-Seidi, Egypt's Consul General in Jeddah, held a meeting with a number of Saudi officials to make preparations for the influx of the Egyptian Umrah performers; approximately in July and between August and September. During the meeting, it had been agreed on raising awareness of pilgrims and Umrah performers on how to combat swine flu through wearing masks and following the health instructions.
The website added that the Egyptian Ministry of Health provided health insurance coverage for all Egyptian pilgrims, who could be treated in all Saudi hospitals during their stay in Saudi Arabia.
The Egyptian health authorities will check all pilgrims before traveling to the Holy Land. In addition, there would be periodic visits to their places of residence after return to follow their health conditions, the website added.
