RIYADH: Saudi Health Minister Fahd Al-Jalajel has announced that there has been no outbreak of highly infectious diseases among Umrah pilgrims and visitors in Makkah, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Al-Jalajel said the positive health report was a result of the measures put in place by the government led by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

He said the Ministry of Health continues to provide holistic medical care for pilgrims at hospitals and primary health care centers in Makkah region and at the Grand Mosque.

Al-Jalajel added that the ministry had recruited more than 18,000 workers to provide health services. For the first 20 days of Ramadan, over 7,200 Umrah pilgrims received treatment at Al-Haram Hospital and various other centers. Medical workers conducted 36 emergency surgeries and 291 dialysis procedures.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia on Friday recorded no COVID-19 deaths, with 117 testing positive and 236 recoveries.

Of the new infections, 27 were recorded in Jeddah, 22 in Riyadh, 19 in Madinah and 16 in Makkah. Several other cities recorded fewer than 10 new cases each.

Saudi health authorities have so far registered more than 753,241 COVID-19 infections and 9,075 deaths since the pandemic broke out in the country in March 2020, after a citizen arrived from Iran through Bahrain.

More than 740,244 of these patients have recovered, thanks to the government’s free vaccination program, which has administered more than 64 million doses at 587 centers across the Kingdom.

The ministry announced that 3,922 COVID-19 cases were still active, adding that 10,984 PCR tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of tests to almost 42 million.

Under the slogan “It’s our turn,” the health ministry continued calling on parents to have their children between the ages of 5 and 11 vaccinated, to protect them from variants and other complications.

Testing hubs and treatment centers set up throughout the country have helped millions of people since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Taakad centers provide COVID-19 testing for those who show no or mild symptoms or believe they have come into contact with an infected individual, while Tetamman clinics offer treatment and advice to those who experience fever, loss of taste and smell, and breathing difficulties.

Last December, Saudi health authorities began administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of 5 and 11. This was after the Saudi Food and Drug Authority approved the Pfizer vaccine for this age group a month before the manufacturer satisfied the regulatory requirements by providing data showing it was safe for children.