Lagos State has said intending pilgrims must take the COVID-19 booster jab or be refused entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Commissioner for Home Affairs Prince Anofiu Elegushi, in a statement, also said weekend lectures for intending pilgrims began last Saturday in all the local government areas
He urged them to attend the lectures because they are designed to keep them abreast of the ethics and activities of Hajj exercise in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
Elegushi, who said lectures would run simultaneously in all the local government areas for about three weeks, added that they have been digitalised to afford the pilgrims the opportunity to learn from the Ulamah (Islamic scholars), who have been adequately prepared to strengthen their knowledge and also expose them to facts about some historical sites in the Holy land.
Meanwhile, the Board has concluded arrangement with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for the compulsory screening of pilgrims to ascertain their health status before the spiritual journey.
The Saudi Ministry of Health, through its embassy in Abuja, has also released health requirements and guidelines for the 2022 Hajj.The screening continues at the Shamsi Adisa Thomas (SAT) Mosque hall in GRA, Ikeja, until today, while administration of the COVID-19 booster jab by the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board is also ongoing at the councils.
The ministry is madating the compulsory use of facemasks whether indoors or outdoors in Saudi Arabia. It also said foreign pilgrims must pay for health insurance that covers cost of COVID-19 treatment while in the Kingdom. Apart from exempting persons over 65 years from performing the Hajj, high risk pilgrims, categorised as those with severe ailments like active cancer or organ impairment, are also restricted from participating in the exercise.
Equally, the guideline mandates completion of basic immunization programs before arrival into the Kingdom. These immunizations Covid-19 vaccination, yellow fever inoculation, meningococcal meningitis vaccination received not less than 10 days to arrival in the Kingdom: its certificate should indicate date the immunization was dispensed.
Furthermore, the ministry requests evidence of poliomyelitis vaccine shot administered not less than four weeks to arrival in Saudi Arabia and not over 12 months ago. Notwithstanding the polio vaccination evidence, travellers from countries with known cases of wild polio would be administered with one dose of bOPV at the entry point (the droplets Nigerians usually receive upon arrival in Saudi Arabia), the guideline states.
In addition to presentation of a Covid-19 negative test result done 72 hours before arrival into the Kingdom, the medical team is required to provide isolation centers in Nigeria’s local clinics.
