When the spread of the deadly coronavirus MERS started making headlines on a daily basis in the Spring, international concern began to mount that the Saudi government wasn’t doing enough to contain the virus. New confirmed cases started emerging in other countries in the region, even reaching the United States. As the death toll mounted, some wondered how the government could curb the spread of the virus and prevent a health disaster during the world’s largest annual human migration in the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages that are fast approaching.
But Saudi Arabia seems to have turned the corner on the spread of MERS, as a Reuters report finds that the number of cases has “dropped off” since the Spring:
Saudi Arabia fired its popular health minister, Abdullah al Rabeeah, a day after the minister made a statement indicating he had no idea why the virus was spreading. Al Rabeeah was replaced with Adel Fakeih, who also serves as the Labor minister. With ongoing challenges in Saudi Arabia’s labor sector with the ongoing implementation of the so-called “Saudization” program (Nitaqat), containing the spread of MERS in Saudi Arabia was another nation-wide challenge placed in front of the Fakeih, and not everyone was convinced firing the minister mid-stream was the right approach.
With the number of new cases receding, Saudi Arabia still has a huge task ahead in preventing the spread of the disease during the Hajj, the largest annual human migration on the planet.
Focus seems to have pivoted to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa as two American patients infected with the diseases recently arrived in Atlanta for treatment.
In response, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has banned Muslim pilgrims from the African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia from performing the Hajj this year. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said that the ministry has “trained our personnel on how to identify and deal with Ebola cases and control virus infection, should it happen.”
