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Saudi Arabia has banned entry to travelers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, fearing that the Ebola virus will spread during the pilgrimage of Hajj pilgrimage next month.
The decision, announced in a note issued Wednesday by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, referred to the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision to declare the Ebola outbreak in the provinces of China. East of North Kivu and Ituri in the DRC. a public health emergency of international concern.
"The issuance of arrival visas for people entering the DRC has been stopped in order to preserve the well-being of pilgrims," says the Saudi Ministry note.
The number of requests from people affected by the move was unclear.
According to a survey conducted by the Congo Research Group research group, based in New York, about 3% of the population of the DRC is Muslim, while people from sub-Saharan Africa account for about 10% of the more than two million annual pilgrims going to the holy city of Mecca.
WHO's advocacy is ignored
The gesture of Riyadh arrived despite the WHO declaring at the time of its declaration of international emergency that no country should close its borders or impose restrictions on travel or trade because of Ebola and urging the governments of other countries to Africa and the world not to "panic" in response to the decision.
The epidemic has killed more than 1,700 people – more than two-thirds of those who have contracted it – since its appearance last August, according to the DRC's health ministry. This is the second most serious epidemic of this type ever recorded.
Saudi Arabia has also partially closed its borders to travelers while the Ebola virus was the deadliest in the world, killing more than 11,300 people. West Africa in 2014-2016.
The suspended kingdom pIlgrimage visas for travelers from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – the three most affected countries.
For Muslims, the pilgrimage reconstructs the actions of the Prophet Muhammad during his "Farewell Pilgrimage" in 632 BC. It is a central pillar of the Islamic faith designed to purify the followers of sin and bring them closer to God.
The six-day pilgrimage is mandatory once in a lifetime for all Muslims who can afford it.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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