Saudi Arabia Reports Five Heat Exhaustion Cases Among Pilgrims, Urges Precautions Amid Soaring Temperatures
As temperatures soared at the holy sites, Saudi Arabia confirmed five cases of heat exhaustion among the more than one million pilgrims who have arrived to perform Hajj rituals.
All those affected received immediate medical attention and are currently in a stable condition, according to the ministry of health, which added that health teams were on high alert to respond swiftly to similar cases as part of the Kingdom's commitment to safeguarding the health and safety of pilgrims.
The country's National Center for Meteorology has forecast hot to extremely hot weather conditions at the holy sites during this year's Hajj season.
According to the center, maximum temperatures are expected to range between 40°C and 47°C, while minimum temperatures will vary between 27°C and 32°C. Humidity levels are projected to fluctuate between 15 percent and 60 percent.
In a post on its X account, the ministry urged pilgrims to stay hydrated, avoid prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, and follow official health guidelines, such as using shaded walkways, wearing appropriate protective gear, and seeking help at the first signs of fatigue.
'If not treated promptly, heat exhaustion can escalate to heat stroke within 10-15 minutes — a life-threatening medical emergency,' the post stated.
The ministry also advised pilgrims who experience heat exhaustion symptoms to begin immediate cooling measures, such as washing their hands, faces and necks with cold water and moving to a cooler area, as well as drinking plenty of cold water to rehydrate.
In its post, the ministry identified headache, excessive sweating, nausea, dizziness, and severe thirst as key clinical symptoms of heat exhaustion.
Multilingual awareness campaigns have been launched, and field preparedness has been reinforced, particularly in response to seasonal heat risks.
The ministry had announced the health sector's readiness to receive pilgrims, revealing a 60 percent increase in bed capacity compared with last year.
Fahad Al-Jalajel, the minister of health, recently confirmed the deployment of over 50,000 medical and technical personnel to serve pilgrims and emphasized the stability of the health situation, with no reported outbreaks or epidemics, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
'Health efforts began early in pilgrims' homelands by analyzing international health risks and issuing clear health requirements, including vaccinations against yellow fever, meningitis, polio, COVID-19, and influenza,' SPA reported, citing Al-Jalajel.
The minister underscored the role of the health certificate as the first line of defense during the Hajj season, noting that the Kingdom's health system launched its services with the arrival of the first Makkah Route Initiative flight.
As part of the Kingdom's comprehensive preparations, 14 land, air, and sea ports have been fully equipped, delivering more than 50,000 health services so far, including 140 surgical procedures, 65 cardiac catheterizations, and six open-heart surgeries, the minister said.
To combat heatstroke risks, Al-Jalajel announced a series of measures in coordination with the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites. These include planting more than 10,000 trees, installing 400 additional water coolers and misting fans, and expanding shaded pedestrian pathways to protect pilgrims from extreme heat.
The ministry of health has also intensified awareness efforts through multilingual campaigns, stationing field teams, launching media programs, and organizing medical missions to ensure important health information reaches all pilgrims.
Al-Jalajel further revealed the establishment of a new 200-bed emergency hospital in Mina, developed in collaboration with Kidana Development Co.
In addition, three new field hospitals with more than 1,200 beds have been set up in partnership with the ministries of national guard, defense, and interior.
These were inaugurated 'alongside 71 emergency points, 900 ambulances, 11 evacuation aircraft, and over 7,500 paramedics,' Al-Jalajel told SPA.
The minister urged pilgrims to follow health guidelines and affirmed that the Kingdom's health system is operating at full capacity to ensure a safe and healthy Hajj season for all.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
3 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Why Have Any COVID-19 Vaccines, 2025?
Five years on, SARS–CoV–2 is a ghost. It's not the beast it was (or was purported to be); yet (as of this last 'flu season') young medical students were still required to get the 'jab.' The current iteration of coronavirus, Omicron, LP.8.1–feels like a cold now, nothing more – moreover, its epitope is not even included in the 'bivalent' Covid vaccine handed out, 2025. Prior to 2003's SARS, coronaviruses were just that: colds, the kind you shook off with soup and sleep. No one demanded shots. No one cared. So why are we still doing this? The numbers, the past, the plain truth say it's hollow—a rule for the sake of rules. Back in 2020, the virus (or the overreaction to it) hit like a storm. Hospitals were packed. People died–350,000 in the US, mostly old, mostly sick – either 'from' or 'with' coronavirus. Kids? They were fine. The American Academy of Pediatrics counted 112 deaths under 18 by December—0.005% of cases; however, those children had problems: diabetes, obesity, and bad lungs. Healthy ones sneezed and moved on. Medical students, in their 20s, were close behind. The CDC pegged that age group's mortality rate at 0.02%–1,200 out of 6 million cases. Two percent landed in hospitals; near zero needed ICUs. There was no real danger for them, 2020 – and beyond. Now it's 2025. The virus hasn't vanished, but it's weak. Immunity—from shots, or from previously having contracted one or another of the Covid variant strains–covers essentially everyone. The current Omicron virus is no monster. It's a nuisance– moreover, it's likely conflated with background 'common cold' coronavirus. Omicron showed up in 2021, spread like crazy, but didn't hit hard. My 2022 piece 'Is it Time to Accept That Omicron is not COVID-19?' noted it was not even genomically and offspring of Covid-19—just another coronavirus, like the ones that give you a runny nose. The current version is much weaker. So what's the reason for medical students' 'booster' mandates' continuation? The shots aren't harmless. Myocarditis hits young guys–1–10 per 100,000 mRNA doses, says a 2022 JAMA study. Medical schools, in particular, should know better. They should move away from anachronistic, lockstep, doctrinaire mandates. In February 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal funding for educational institutions that mandate Covid–19 vaccines for in–person attendance. Medical schools reliant on federal funds may reconsider these pointless mandates, paeans to outdated orthodoxy.
Daily Tribune
3 days ago
- Daily Tribune
‘COVID Legacy Powers Safety'
TDT | Manama Bahrain's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has laid the foundation for a far-reaching transformation in civil protection and crisis governance, according to a senior lawmaker. MP Dr. Maryam Al-Dhaen said the Kingdom's pandemic response had demonstrated how trust, innovation, and citizen participation could be channelled into a long-term national safety strategy. That experience, she noted, has now evolved into an integrated civil defence model focused on readiness, technology, and shared responsibility. She pointed to current efforts that embed digital tools into emergency response frameworks, while simultaneously empowering society at large to play a greater role in public safety. Smart tools, safer citizens One of the most visible changes is the rollout of the 'BeAware Bahrain' mobile application, which offers users real-time alerts, safety guidance, and interactive support in emergency scenarios. Dr. Al-Dhaen described the app as a key part of Bahrain's shift from reactive crisis response to proactive community protection. Complementing the app is the National Civil Protection Platform, an institutional framework designed to unify state and community efforts under a common strategy. The platform, she said, reinforces Bahrain's advanced security culture and promotes an environment of resilience and awareness. Shared responsibility The government's civil protection efforts also include expanding the scope of preparedness across different sectors. Dr. Al-Dhaen highlighted the recent civil defence training sessions conducted for Members of Parliament, calling it a clear sign that the responsibility for public safety is being shared across institutions. 'The concept of safety in Bahrain has become a shared responsibility between state institutions and society,' she said, noting that awareness campaigns and simulations have now reached multiple levels of government and civil society. Leadership and coordination Dr. Al-Dhaen credited His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for leading a crisis governance model that prioritises regional stability and domestic readiness. She also praised the active role of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in monitoring emergency procedures and enhancing national preparedness. She further commended the Civil Defence Council, chaired by His Excellency Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Interior, for its role in strengthening preventive measures and coordination across agencies. In closing, Dr. Al-Dhaen said Bahrain's civil protection system today reflects the lessons of its pandemic response, turning past challenges into future safeguards.
Gulf Insider
5 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Fired Harvard Epidemiologist Named to CDC Vaccine Panel
World-renowned infectious-disease epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff — who was fired from Harvard Medical School last year after refusing the COVID vaccine — just got a new gig. Kulldorff has been named a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. Kulldorff, who had refused the COVID vaccine because of his infection-acquired immunity, lost his appointment at a Harvard-affiliated hospital in the early days of the COVID era, and in March of 2024 was officially terminated as a med school faculty member. Since the COVID lockdowns began five years ago this month, Kulldorff argued that tactics such as social distancing, masking children, vaccines after infections, and other extreme measures were not the best course of action to fight the virus. He co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for sensible tactics that would allow the globe to reach 'herd immunity' and has been signed by nearly 1 million scientists worldwide. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in announcing the new members of the panel last week on X, wrote that his selections signify a 'major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines.' Kennedy wrote he retired the 17 current members of the committee and is repopulating ACIP with eight new members 'committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense.' 'They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations. The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well,' Kennedy stated. MassLive reported that in 2021, 'Kulldorff posted on X that 'thinking that everyone must be vaccinated is as scientifically flawed as thinking that nobody should.'' 'COVID vaccines are important for older high-risk people and their care-takers,' he wrote. 'Those with prior natural infection do not need it. Nor children.' According to the New York Times , after Kennedy's announcement, some infectious disease and vaccine experts accused the health secretary of going back on his pledge not to pick so-called anti-vaxxers. 'When Mr. Kennedy fired the entire committee, known as the A.C.I.P., he cited financial conflicts of interest and said a clean sweep was necessary to restore public trust in vaccination,' the Times reported. As for Harvard's role in the controversy, writing in City Journal last year, Kulldorff argued that Harvard turned its back on him, open debate, and medical freedom. 'The beauty of our immune system is that those who recover from an infection are protected if and when they are re-exposed. This has been known since the Athenian Plague of 430 BC—but it is no longer known at Harvard,' he wrote. 'Three prominent Harvard faculty coauthored the now infamous 'consensus' memorandum in The Lancet, questioning the existence of Covid-acquired immunity. By continuing to mandate the vaccine for students with a prior Covid infection, Harvard is de facto denying 2,500 years of science.' Kennedy, in announcing Kulldorff, noted he is a biostatistician and 'a leading expert in vaccine safety and infectious disease surveillance.' '… Dr. Kulldorff developed widely used tools such as SaTScan and TreeScan for detecting disease outbreaks and vaccine adverse events. His expertise includes statistical methods for public health surveillance, immunization safety, and infectious disease epidemiology. He has also been an influential voice in public health policy, advocating for evidence-based approaches to pandemic response.' Also read: Early COVID-19 Vaccine Patent In China Raises New Questions For U.S. Investigators
