RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will require the millions of pilgrims who flock to the kingdom to provide a health certificate showing that they do not have a chronic disease, as part of country s efforts to battle swine flu, a Health Ministry official said Wednesday. The country will also ban adults over 65 and children under 12, and require pilgrims to show proof they ve received flu shots at home, said Khaled Al-Merghalani, the ministry spokesman. These conditions came after consultations with top international experts in the field, Al-Merghalani told The Associated Press. No one will be able to get a visa without fulfilling these new rules. There has been much discussion in the Muslim world about how to prevent the spread of swine flu during the Hajj and Umra, pilgrimages to Islam s holiest sites located in Saudi Arabia. The Hajj is required of all able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lives, while Umra is a voluntary, lesser pilgrimage that can be completed at any other time of the year. Al-Merghalani said the restrictions will apply to the Hajj, which this year takes place in late November, and to Umra, which can see up to 3 million visitors during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which begins later this month. Al-Merghalani said the government will start implementing the rules once they are approved by top Saudi authorities. Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah told the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday that the conditions are balanced, fair and scientific. He urged the pilgrims to wear masks in crowded places, to sanitize their hands and to seek medical help if they have any flu symptoms. Al-Rabeeah, who s on a visit to Tunis, said the new measures will not affect the countries Hajj quotas. A limited number of pilgrims from each country is allowed to attend the Hajj every year. The conditions Saudi Arabia plans to impose are similar to those adopted by Arab health ministers at a meeting in Cairo two weeks. Egypt s highest religious authority, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, has said that anyone who disregards the ministers decisions will be considered a sinner. The Hajj attracts about 3 million people every year to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The climax of the Hajj is a 4-day period during which people gather in and around Mecca to perform a series of rituals. Saudi Arabia has taken steps to allay fears that the mass gathering could speed the spread of swine flu, including hosting experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and others in June to examine its measures to prevent the spread of the disease during Hajj. -AP
