The World Health Organization (WHO) provided several recommendations that should apply to people who plan to attend mass gatherings like the Hajj. The recommendations will be very important, especially for Saudi Arabia, as the country prepares to welcome people attending the Hajj this year. Implementing the various recommendations at individual and organizational levels will help improve people’s safety and keep the country healthy. The WHO emphasises applying correct standards in assessing risk, monitoring and response (Hashim et al., 2021). For COVID-19, the standards should include controlling infection, vaccination and managing outbreaks if they happen. The magnitude of the Hajj requires that all three aspects be involved.
The WHO recommendations include maintaining a safe distance, hygiene and self-management. First, before travelling, people should be vaccinated with appropriate immunization. Various governments have preferred vaccines that they recommend for COVID-19. People should be tested before vaccination and screened when entering crowded places (Hashim et al., 2021). People should also use regular masks that properly fit them to reduce contact with aerosols. They also need appropriate social distancing. They should be as far from each other as possible during the mass gatherings. People are also encouraged to cover their mouths when coughing to minimize the spreading of the disease (Hashim et al., 2021). The WHO also recommends hand hygiene among people and avoiding the masses when one has symptoms.
Ethical implications
One ethical implication of following the WHO recommendations is that people’s autonomy may be limited. Healthcare requires that people freely decide about their health. However, the pandemic affected everyone and people still face the risk of COVID-19 spreading in the Hajj. Hence, blanket guidelines that will affect everyone must be implemented even if they may reduce people’s choices on matters like vaccination (Hashim et al., 2021). Another implication is that the recommendations will protect people’s lives. Healthcare must primarily aim to preserve life. Hence, helping people make good decisions ensures that many lives are saved. Each person will be responsible for their health and everyone else’s.
Law or practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia should heed the WHO’s advice by implementing the recommendations during Hajj. For instance, now, the country requires that people who visit for Hajj must be vaccinated. The country requires that all visitors use an approved vaccine and have documentation. Therefore, people must have the vaccination certificate during their visa application to be accepted (Hashim et al., 2021). The country also introduced quarantine requirements for travellers who landed and tested positive. Therefore, pilgrims who arrived and tested positive were quarantined to prevent them from spreading the infection. Also, the country provides free vaccines to people to protect them. The free COVID-19 vaccines were for both citizens and non-citizens. The government also made it mandatory to wear face masks and gave about 50 professionals to help the pilgrims stay compliant with the requirements (Parker & Gaines, 2019). Also, to ensure that the infections did not affect many people if they happened, attendees were grouped into teams of twenty people who moved together with the help of a professional to help them comply with the guidelines.
Healthcare Organizations who heeded the Advice
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health heeded the advice of the WHO, ensured that there were enough vaccines, and employed the personnel who followed the groups during the pilgrimage. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also ensured that people who came to KSA were tested and met the law’s requirements.
Outcomes
The measures led to exceptional results because in 2020 after the recommendations were applied, no case of COVID-19 infection was detected. The pilgrimage had zero infection rates among foreigners and KSA citizens who participated (Hashim et al., 2021). Therefore, the recommendations effectively prevented the disease from spreading in the country.
References
Hashim, H. T., Babar, M. S., Essar, M. Y., Ramadhan, M. A., & Ahmad, S. (2021). The Hajj and COVID-19: how the pandemic shaped the world’s largest religious gathering. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 104(3), 797.https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1563
Parker, S., & Gaines, J. (2019). Saudi Arabia: Hajj/Umrah pilgrimage.CDC Yellow Book 2020: Health Information for International Travel. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/popular-itineraries/saudi-arabia-hajjumrah-pilgrimage
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