LOC16:13
13:13 GMT
MAKKAH, Sept 3 (KUNA) -- Saudi Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah said on Sunday that this year's Hajj season is safe and no epidemic diseases were reported.
"This year's pilgrimage is free of epidemics and all pilgrims are healthy," the Saudi minister told a press conference.
The Ministry of Health has mobilized all human, material and mechanical potentials and capacities for providing preventive and therapeutic services to all pilgrims, he said.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ensured a health pilgrimage season as two million pilgrims have performed Hajj this year so smoothly and easily thanks to high-quality services provided, the minister boasted.
During this year's Hajj season, the Ministry of Health equipped 25 hospitals in Makkah, the holy places and Madinah and 158 health centers with 31,000 health and administrative practitioners.
Health teams at the Ministry of Health provided vaccine and preventive treatment against polio to more than 700,000 pilgrims, Al-Rabiah noted.
Earlier in the day, Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee Prince Khalid Al-Faisal announced the success of this year's Hajj season.
Meanwhile, pilgrims began the second day of Tashreeq by doing the ritual of "stoning the devil" in a symbolic move.
The days of Tashreeq mark the 11th, 12th and 13th of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah.
After performing the stoning ritual, pilgrims leave Mena for Makkah to move around Al-Kaaba seven times to end their Hajj, which is the fifth and final pillar of Islam. (end)
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