CAIRO: The Egyptian Ministry of Health requested that the Ministry of Tourism send a physician to accompany Egyptian groups going on Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca. In the official request letter, the Health Ministry also requested that all Egyptian travelers going on Umrah receive an examination by the physician who will accompany them before they travel. It further recommended that the Tourism Ministry not allow anyone with chest, heart, kidney or liver diseases to travel because "they are the most vulnerable to catch the H1N1 virus, as the statement explained. In an official statement by Osama Al-Ashry, deputy Minister of Tourism, he said that the Ministry of Tourism had previously asked the Ministry of Health to set up special health centers in Mecca and Medina financed by the Tourism Ministry. Al-Ashry believes that having a permanent center is the best solution to cater to the needs of thousands of Egyptian pilgrims. "Tourism agencies organize between 20 and 50 Umrah trips per day, he said, "and so the presence of a permanent medical center is the best solution to cater to the pilgrims' needs. The Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana had recently issued a decree obliging all tour agencies to issue travel insurance for their pilgrims to give them access to the "best hospitals in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Garana's decision came after the Egyptian Travel Agencies Association's (ETAA) high board approved the suggestion. The ETAA also obliged travel agents to cover the medical expenses of Umrah pilgrims. Royal Insurance Company was selected for this deal by a special ETAA committee chaired by Khaled Al-Menawy, head of the ETAA, whereby the insurance company will pay a sum of LE 20,000 to the families of Egyptian who die while on pilgrimage. On Friday, the Ministry of Health announced a new case of H1N1 flu in Egypt, raising the total to 72. Nasr Al-Sayed, deputy Minister of Health for precautionary measures, said that the new case is a 16-year-old who arrived to Luxor from London with her family on June 2 and is currently being treated in a hospital in Luxor. The majority of H1N1 flu cases have resulted from Egyptians coming into contact with infected foreigners, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC). Of 69 cases of H1N1 flu reported at the time the report was released, 51 percent were Egyptians who did not travel abroad, but had contact with infected foreigners. Of the remaining cases, 21 percent held dual citizenship, and 27 percent were foreigners.-Additional reporting by Tyler Waywell
