Thousands of doctors trained to fight infections during Haj

August 30, 2014

Jeddah, Aug 30: Health authorities in Makkah have begun training their personnel, including nurses and doctors, in dealing with prevention of infection of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) during the Haj season.

Haj
The infection control management and effective preventive measures are needed for such a massive gathering, said Dr. Abdul Salam Noorwali, director of the Ministry of Health in the Makkah region.

He said in a statement that wearing a special mask is crucial, and training is being conducted for nurses and doctors according to international standards at Hera General Hospital in Makkah.

Nearly 3,800 personnel are being provided training in dealing with coronavirus-related cases and preventive measures, the director said, adding that the extensive training that began last week will last for three more weeks.

All doctors and other paramedic staff are being deployed for Haj in Makkah, Noorwali said, and emphasized the importance of effective measures for infection control methods in view of corona and Ebola viruses.

He added that all deployed staff must pass the infection control management tests conducted by the MoH in the holy city.

“The MoH is determined that pilgrims should return to their homes in a safe and healthy state and free from any virus infection during their pilgrimage in the Kingdom,” he said.

In preventing and controlling any suspected Ebola cases, the MoH has made mandatory the spread of information about suspected symptoms to health authorities within 24 hours.

The ministry organized a workshop at Jeddah’s King Fahd Hospital on Thursday in which all provincial directors from the ministry participated through a video link.

In another development, Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz University held a lecture on the coronavirus by a Japanese scientist.

As part of a research program, professor Wataru Kamitani of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD), Osaka University, Japan, was received by professor Adnan Zahed, vice president for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research.

According to university sources, during the visit, Kamitani paid a visit to King Fahd Center for Medical Research to share his expertise with its scientists.

The purpose of the visit, according to Zahed, was to discuss aspects of mutual cooperation in scientific research in line with KAU’s policy of seeking to provide high quality education and taking advantage of the capacity and expertise of other local and foreign universities and scientists.

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News Network
May 6,2024

rafaheast.jpg

The Israeli regime is forcibly evacuating Palestinians from the eastern part of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid the prospect of its widely-discouraged ground invasion.

“The estimate is around 100,000 people,” an Israeli military spokesman told journalists on Monday when asked how many people were being evacuated.

International organizations, including the United Nations, have repeatedly warned the regime against invading the city, citing its hosting around 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a ground assault on Rafah would “put the final nail in the coffin” for humanitarian aid operations in the Gaza Strip.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also said, “Any ground operation would mean more suffering and death,” with an official saying “It could be a slaughter of civilians.”

Multiple aid agencies, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, have likewise warned against a Rafah offensive.

The NRC said such an invasion “would profoundly exacerbate the already catastrophic levels of need and the humanitarian emergency for millions of civilians with nowhere left to go.”

The official alleged Hamas had killed three Israeli forces on Sunday, attacking them from Rafah.

The evacuation order came a sat least 22 people lost their lives in the regime’s airstrikes killed in Rafah earlier on Monday.

Rafah’s evacuation “is part of our plans to dismantle Hamas,” the Israeli spokesman added, referring to the Palestinian resistance movement that has been defending Gaza in the face of the war.

The Palestinians have fled there from the ravages of a war that the regime began waging against Gaza on October 7, following a retaliatory operation by the coastal sliver’s resistance groups.

At least 34,683 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and 78,018 others injured so far during the brutal military onslaught.

On Friday, Hossam Badran, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on carrying out a ground invasion of Rafah was a key stumbling block in negotiations aimed at a truce agreement.

The Israeli premier has said the regime would go ahead with invading the city “with or without” a truce.

Hamas has, however, asserted that the regime has failed to defeat the resistance during the war.

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