In this post-pandemic era, Dr. Probosuseno suggests that hajj pilgrims continue to maintain Covid-19 health protocols for their own good. “Even though you are fully vaccinated, you must maintain your ikhtiar or concrete effort. Please continue to wear filter masks, wash your hands, and consume vitamin D to strengthen your immune system. It is part of ikhtiar, which is necessary to complement tawakal or trust and surrender to Allah,” he said.
To help withstand the heat, the doctor suggests pilgrims drink three gulps of zamzam water once every 10 minutes. “Insha Allah, by the grace of Allah, just this much will not make you urinate often. Instead of rice, have 12 dates – they contain 200 calories, the same as a plate of plain white rice. After you consume the dates, your body will be ready for activity again.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health notes that only 76% of our candidate hajj pilgrims planned for departure this year are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. “That’s today’s data. In other words, only these 76% can depart for the Holy Lands next month,” said the Head of the Ministry of Health’s Hajj Center, dr. Budi Sylvana, MARS, in the Opening of Technical Guidance Sessions for Hajj Ritual Organizers held at the Hajj Dormitory in Pondok Gede, Jakarta, last Tuesday (17/05/2022).
He declares that full-dose Covid-19 vaccination is a primary requirement made by the Saudi Arabian Government to ensure everyone’s health and safety. Therefore, candidate pilgrims who are not completely vaccinated cannot go. Other than full Covid-19 vaccination, the Saudi Government requires a PCR test 72 before departure, and maximum pilgrim age of 65.
Dr. Probosuseno complemented the statement by saying that the Saudi Government will take in any pilgrim who has full 3-dose Covid-19 vaccination, no matter what brand they got – Sinovac, Sinopharm, Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca. “To my knowledge, they require Covid-19 vaccination including booster. Please just follow the rules that they set so that we can all go on a safe hajj pilgrimage,” he said.
Lowering Death Rates
The Ministry of Health is planning to reduce the hajj pilgrim death rate for the year. Within the past 10 years, the average death rate is among these pilgrims is 2 deaths per 1,000 pilgrims per year. They hope to cut this rate by half this year to 1 death per 1,000 pilgrims.
Records show that this rather high hajj pilgrim death rate in the Holy Lands is caused by both age and behavior. Pilgrims with comorbid illnesses and/or old age are requested not to give in to the temptation to pray excessively during the hajj season. Furthermore, it is much hotter there than in Indonesia. Everyone should be aware of possible heatwave occurring in this year’s hajj period. We all need to maintain physical fitness by implementing a clean and healthy lifestyle, make a habit of drinking plain water sufficiently to maintain hydration levels every day, reduce the intensity and frequency of outdoor activities, and maintain health protocol discipline both there and before leaving.
Other than encouraging health promotion and illness prevention behaviors, the Ministry of Health is strengthening its curative and rehabilitative efforts to ensure that good health service is available to our pilgrims throughout the hajj season. They are preparing doctors and nurses on 24-hour standby, in shifts, in the hajj pilgrimage stops, to ensure that all pilgrims can get rapid, proper health action and attention as necessary. (est)