Hani Jokhdar, MBBS, MSc, PhD, is Deputy Minister for Public Health; Anas Khan, MBBS, MHA, SBEM, is Director General, Global Center for Mass Gatherings Medicine; Sari Asiri, MBBS, SBFM, is Director General, Hajj and Umrah Health Services; Wael Motair, MBBS, SBU, is Director General, Health Affairs, Makkah Region; Abdullah Assiri, MBBS, FACP, is Assistant Deputy Minister for Preventive Health; and Mohammed Alabdulaali, is Assistant Minister; all in the Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Anas Khan is also Associate Professor, Emergency and Disaster Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Health Secur. 2021 Mar-Apr;19(2):133-139. doi: 10.1089/hs.2020.0144. Epub 2020 Dec 1.
The Hajj pilgrimage, held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is among the largest mass gatherings in the world. More than 2.5 million Muslim pilgrims assemble from over 180 countries worldwide to perform Hajj. The Saudi government recognized the potential risks associated with this event since the first novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case was detected in the country on March 2, 2020. The return of possibly infected pilgrims to their countries after this huge mass gathering event could have turned Hajj into a superspreading event during the global COVID-19 pandemic. A multidisciplinary Saudi team from governmental sectors, including the Global Center for Mass Gatherings Medicine, shared in the assessment, planning, execution, and success of this holy event to prevent the spread of disease. The World Health Organization welcomed the Saudi government's decision to protect the wellbeing and safety of pilgrims and strengthen regional and global health security. A total of 1,000 pilgrims from 160 different countries were randomly selected to perform the rituals. Of all the pilgrims, healthcare personnel, and nonmedical employees facilitating the rituals, no confirmed cases of COVID-19 were identified during or after Hajj. This article highlights the success of the risk mitigation plan in place during the Hajj pilgrimage in 2020 (1441 Hijri year) during the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts of the Saudi government to prevent associated outbreaks.
麦加朝圣是在沙特阿拉伯王国举行的，是世界上最大的群众集会之一。来自全球 180 多个国家的超过 250 万穆斯林朝圣者聚集在一起进行朝觐。自 2020 年 3 月 2 日沙特阿拉伯首次发现 2019 年新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）病例以来，沙特政府已经意识到与这一事件相关的潜在风险。在这次大型集会活动之后，可能受到感染的朝圣者返回各自的国家，这可能使朝觐活动成为全球 COVID-19 大流行期间的超级传播事件。来自政府部门的沙特多学科团队，包括全球大规模集会医学中心，共同参与了这项神圣活动的评估、规划、执行和成功，以防止疾病传播。世界卫生组织对沙特政府保护朝圣者的健康和安全并加强区域和全球卫生安全的决定表示欢迎。共有 160 个不同国家的 1000 名朝圣者被随机选中参加仪式。在朝觐期间和之后，所有朝圣者、医护人员和协助仪式的非医务人员中，均未发现 COVID-19 确诊病例。本文重点介绍了在 COVID-19 大流行期间，2020 年（1441 伊斯兰历年份）朝觐期间实施的风险缓解计划的成功，以及沙特政府为防止相关疫情爆发所做的努力。
