Six people have tested positive for swine flu in Saudi Arabia; bringing the number of reported infections to 45, Saudi Health Ministry said yesterday. The new cases were 28-year-old Saudi man coming from India, six-month-old Saudi girl, 21-year-old Saudi man, one-year-old girl, and two Filipino nurses, aged 51 and 32 years. The two nurses were infected due to physical contact with patients. For its part, the Tunisian government has decided to suspend Umrah (minor pilgrimage) until further notice. This came after Umrah performers, from different nationalities, were infected with swine flu in Mecca and Medina. Tunisia's Health Ministry confirmed its first two H1N1 cases; two citizens coming from the United States.
A media source close to the Tunisian authorities said the government decided to suspend Umrah flights until further notice. However, the regular flights between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia will continue. The source did not rule out that the government may cancel Hajj this year. On the other hand, Egypt's Minister of Tourism Zuheir Garana said Egypt would cancel Hajj and Umrah this year only if the swine flu spread throughout Saudi Arabia in an uncontrollable way. In this case, a political decision would be taken to cancel Hajj and Umrah. During his yesterday's visit to Beheira governorate, Garana called on those who want to perform Umrah not to reserve tickets from now, especially as some people were infected with swine flu in Mecca and Medina. This may cause health problems to the Egyptian pilgrims.
