Officials announcing in Doha yesterday the preparations for the upcoming Haj pilgrimage season.

A total of 1,200 pilgrims from Qatar, including 900 Qataris, will be able to perform Haj during the upcoming season, it was announced yesterday.
“The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has started its preparations early to provide pilgrims from Qatar with the best possible services,” Jassim Abdullah al-Ali, assistant director of the Haj and Umrah Affairs, told a press conference.
The Haj campaigns include 12 by air and two by land, and all of them are co-operating with the Ministry of Awqaf.  The preliminary delegation of Haj is set to leave by the end of this month and the official delegation will leave by the beginning of September.
“Pilgrims who are selected for Haj but are unable to go for any reason should notify the ministry as soon as possible so others from the waiting lists could be selected,” the official urged.
An inspection has been done on the accommodations of pilgrims in Makkah and almost 80% of the related preparations has been completed.
A service centre has been established to offer the pilgrims from Qatar health or religious services through a unified number, 132, and a special Saudi number will be assigned soon to receive the calls of pilgrims round the clock to offer them due assistance.
The press briefing was jointly conducted with the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) representatives. Head of the Airport Passports Section at MoI Major Nasser al-Humaidi said that the number of counters and inspection equipment will be increased at Hamad International Airport (HIA) to expedite the procedures of pilgrims travel. Also, there will be a service to renew the residence permit at HIA for those with expired permit.
Lieutenant Shafi al-Shemari, an officer at Abu Samra border post, said that all preparations have been made to ensure a hassle-free process for the processing of the documents of pilgrims.
Dr Mohamed al-Hajiri, SCH’s director of Health Protection and Communicable Diseases, stressed that SCH has taken all the necessary procedures to provide pilgrims with adequate health services in collaboration with other related entities such as Qatar Red Crescent. Also, it has provided highly qualified and trained medical staff for related services.

Seminar on healthcare for pilgrims
Supreme Council of Health’s (SCH) seminar on healthcare precautions and preparations to perform Haj this season opens tomorrow at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Qatar’s top health body is organising the seminar in collaboration with Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) for people working in public and private sectors.
The seminar’s aim is to increase people’s awareness about local, regional and global health risks like HIV, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV), and other diseases.
The seminar will also advise attendees on health risks associated with travel in general and for Haj in particular, and the health requirements to be met by travellers planning to go on pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
It will also present World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and precautionary measures people should take.
The seminar will display information on vaccinations for pilgrims and the procedures set by the SCH to fight communicable diseases.