Muslims & Mecca: Saudi Arabia Bans Flights from Ebola-Affected Regions, Only Country to Do So
Saudi Arabia is the only country to ban flights from countries affected by Ebola amid a religious holiday.
The three most affected countries, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, have Muslim populations and were banned from coming into Saudi Arabia to celebrate an annual pilgrimage celebration, PBS reported.
While more than two million arrived in the country for the trip to Mecca, 7,400 Muslims in the Ebola-affected regions were banned.
But despite the precautionary measure, Saudi Arabia has also been setting up isolation and surgery units as well as dispatching medical staff to airports.
But travelers from Nigeria -- one of the five affected regions, but with far fewer cases and deaths from the virus -- were allowed visas.
So far 118,000 pilgrims have arrived by air from Nigeria. There was not a single suspected case of the deadly virus among anyone of them," said Abdul Ghani Al-Malki, supervisor of hajj affairs at the King Abdulaziz International Airport.
Officials also monitored arrivals from Kenya, Senegal and other countries affected by the outbreak, in addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo -- where an unrelated outbreak is taking place.
The airport authorities ensure that planes were sanitized after deplaning.
"We have double-checked the papers that prove the airplanes had been sprayed twice before taking off to their destinations," Al-Maliki said.
But the Ivory Coast, which shares borders with Liberia and Guinea, has also banned incoming visitors from the affected region, BBC reported.
The Ivory Coast airport has ensured that those flying in from affected areas have to bypass a thermometer test.
BB reported that British Airways, Pan-African airline Asky and Arik Air have suspended flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone, while the Emirates Airlines has suspended flights to Guinea.
The World Health Organization reported more than 3,300 deaths from Ebola in West Africa.
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