Saudi Arabia will not change the countries quota for Hajj pilgrims this year, but they will probably ban children and the elderly to reduce risk from the swine flu virus. An emergency Arab Health Ministers meeting was held in Cairo on Wednesday where it was proposed to block people older than 65 and younger than 12 from the Hajj. Health Ministry spokesman said the government is expected to implement the recommendations. Dr. Khalid Marghlani said the national quotas for the annual pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina will not change. He said – “This will not touch on the quotas, the percentage of pilgrims allocated to each country”.
The Hajj pilgrimage is a requisite act for Muslims if they have the means. About 2 million were expected to arrive this year. Officials are worried about a possible outbreak of the H1N1 virus during the two week period. There are currently about 300 cases of diagnosed H1N1 flu in Saudi Arabia.
