Ali Gomaa, Egypt's Grand Mufti, said he would issue a fatwa (religious opinion) postponing Umrah (minor pilgrimage) this year only if the swine flu's danger became "deadly" or spread rapidly among humans. Al-Masry Al-Youm obtained a copy of the fatwa sent by Gomaa in response to a letter from Hatem el-Gabali, Minister of Health, to Darul Iftaa (Institute of Islamic Jurisprudence) to know the religious opinion on postponing Umrah in light of the spread of swine flu.
A fatwa postponing Umrah for fear of the spread of the virus depends on the opinion of the bodies concerned such as the World Health Organization (WHO), and the local and regional health ministries, Gomaa added.
If the virus turned into an epidemic causing a deadly threat to people's health and lives, it would be a must to postpone Umrah in accordance with the Islamic fatwa saying: preventing harm takes precedence over bringing benefits. The Ministry of Health's epidemiological surveillance are in a race against time to arrest the swine flu-infected foreigner, who passed the infection to a young Egyptian, case No. 29 and the first Egyptian infected person. Ahmed Nasr Mahrous, 21, was infected with swine flu. He was taken to Imbaba Fever Hospital. A team of doctors from the epidemiological surveillance moved to Sofitel Le Sphinx Cairo hotel in Remaiya square, where Mahrous was working. The doctors checked all guests and staff members by taking a throat swab to check for infection. The samples were sent to central laboratories for analysis.
The doctors checked the list of the hotel's guests during last week in an attempt to know the source of the infection and whether he/she is still in Egypt. Mahrous was suffering from a high temperature, so he went to a doctor, who referred him to Imbaba Fever Hospital. A team of doctors moved to Mahrous's home, as a precautionary measure, to check his parents and sisters by taking samples from them for further tests. Abdel Rahman Shahin, the Ministry of Health spokesman, said a Sudanese woman, 34, was infected with swine flu; taking the number of the confirmed cases in Egypt to 30. International Airport's quarantine authorities confined four suspected female passengers coming from Kuwait and Lebanon yesterday.
On the world level, seven people have tested positive for swine flu in Saudi Arabia. South Africa, which is currently hosting the Continents Cup, announced the first case of swine flu. The board member also added that the settlement regarding the National Bank of Egypt involves a team representing four banks; the Arab African International Bank, the Egyptian Saudi Bank, the United Bank and the National Bank of Egypt which runs the whole settlement.
