Equipped rooms for Coronavirus suspects during Hajj

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Saturday 19 Sep 2015 - 15:28 Makkah mean time-6-12-1436 Jeddah (IINA) – Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has specified a new mechanism to deal with suspected cases of Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the holy sites, through patient isolation in one of the modern portable isolation rooms, made available for the first time by the ministry. The isolation rooms, which are capable of moving between the holy sites, contain well-equipped laboratories for detecting MERS virus infection. Patients who are tested positive for the disease will immediately be transferred by air ambulance to King Abdullah Medical Complex in Jeddah, which has been allocated as a specialized center for Coronavirus. "The ministry has allocated beds for isolation in hospitals in Makkah, especially in the East Arafat Hospital, which was assigned for isolation through the provision of beds inside the most sophisticated isolation rooms, to be used for the first time,” a medical source at the Ministry of Health was quoted by Makkah newspaper as saying, adding that an isolation technique known as negative room pressure is used in this hospital to prevent cross-contaminations from room to room. "Suspected cases of Coronavirus will be transferred to East Arafat hospital for isolation and sample collection. The collected samples will then be sent to the regional laboratory, which will report the results in no more than eight hours. If the suspected cases tested positive for the virus, the Rapid Intervention Teams will be informed to transfer the patients by air ambulance to King Abdullah Medical Complex in Jeddah," the same source said. The source affirmed that the ministry has prepared for this year’s Hajj season with fully fledged system of health and preventive services, but, it added, health issues remain a concern for the ministry because of the large number of pilgrims and the easy transmission of the virus between people. That is why the ministry is working to guarantee the highest distinction levels in performance through training and warning its health cadres to strictly abide by the preventive measures, as they are in the frontline of defense, where their number has risen this year to reach nearly 25,000 health practitioners. AB/IINA