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DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal said Monday it has implemented voluntary COVID-19 screening tests and re-required returning pilgrims to wear masks at Dakar’s international airport amid concerns the virus has been linked to the deaths of some Hajj pilgrims in Mecca.
Health Minister Ibrahima Sy said on Sunday that Dhaka suspected some of the Saudi count of about 1,300 deaths were from respiratory syndromes such as COVID-19.
“At first, we thought it was related to the heat wave because the temperature was too high, but later we realised that the deaths were due to respiratory syndrome,” Sy said of the deaths among pilgrims in the scorching heat.
“We told ourselves that this could be a respiratory epidemic and it is our responsibility to set up all the screening systems related to COVID-19 and monitor the pilgrims who are returning home,” Sy said in a speech broadcast by Senegalese Broadcasting Corporation.
Death toll from heat waves exceeds 1,300 pilgrims
The health ministry said it had deployed a team at the airport to provide voluntary screening tests to pilgrims and identify those with influenza-like illness, thus “strengthening the health surveillance system”.
The ministry also urged the public to “remain vigilant, exercise restraint, stay calm and avoid an outbreak.”
The ministry said that out of 124 rapid diagnostic tests, 78 tested positive for the coronavirus, 36 of which were later confirmed by PCR tests.
The airport’s chief medical officer, Charles Bernard Sagna, said the alert was raised after a Senegalese medical team based in Jeddah reported a “significant number” of passengers experiencing respiratory problems.
The ministry said on Sunday there was no need to panic, but precautions were necessary.
Senegalese daily Le Observateur reported that the five people killed during the Hajj were Senegalese nationals.
They are among a group of about 12,000 officially registered Senegalese.
Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency previously reported that a total of 1,301 people died during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, with temperatures reaching a high of 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the country’s National Meteorological Center.
The SPA said more than 80 percent of pilgrims attending the mainly outdoor ceremony were “unauthorized” and traveled long distances in direct sunlight.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be performed by all eligible Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
Saudi officials said 1.8 million pilgrims took part this year, similar to last year’s number, with 1.6 million coming from abroad.
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