Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah has assured the world that the coronavirus does not pose a threat to Haj and Umrah pilgrims.
In a statement at the end of the 59th meeting of the Regional Committee for the East of the Mediterranean at the regional headquarters of the World Health Organization in Cairo yesterday, Al-Rabeeah said: "The health condition of pilgrims is satisfactory. They are free from any kind of infectious diseases."
The Ministry of Health has taken all necessary steps to ensure the well-being of Haj pilgrims with 22,000 medical staff and eight hospitals in the holy sites and more than 150 health centers in Madinah apart from a number of hospitals, the minister said. Read MoreMinister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah will sign Saturday a series of contracts worth SR 1.18 billion related to the establishment of new medical centers and expansion of the existing facilities at King Fahd Medical City (KFMC).
The projects include the establishment of a comprehensive cancer center, a neurosciences center, lab building, a center for stem cell research and associated administrative offices and expansion of Prince Salman Cardiac Center.
The minister, meanwhile, will sponsor the signing ceremony of another contract for the establishment of a center for treatment by using particles at a cost amounting to SR 277.61 million, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Read More
How Switching to Decaf could Save your Sight: Drinking Three Cups of Coffee a Day Linked with Vision Loss and Blindness
Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day may increase the risk of vision loss and blindness, according to American research.
Even moderate amounts of the drink make developing the devastating eye condition glaucoma more likely.
The study, published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, suggests coffee lovers reduce their intake to reduce their chances of developing the condition.
Glaucoma occurs when the drainage tubes within the eye become slightly blocked.
This prevents eye fluid from draining properly, causing pressure to build up.
When the fluid cannot drain properly, pressure builds up. Read MoreJEDDAH About 150 foreign employees at the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Aziziyah, Jeddah, are awaiting a decision by the Labor Ministry over their complaint about delays in payment of salaries by the contracting company that hired them.
The workers said they would stop work if their employer does not pay all outstanding dues, including back pay for four months.
The workers approached the Ministry of Labor seeking its intervention after the company turned a deaf ear to instructions given by Jeddah Health Affairs to redress the grievances of the workers, many of whom had their residency permits expired. Read More
Health and science reporter, BBC News
Stem cells made from skin have become "grandparents" after generations of life were created in experiments by scientists in Japan.
The cells were used to create eggs, which were fertilised to produce baby mice. These later had their own babies.
If the technique could be adapted for people, it could help infertile couples have children and even allow women to overcome the menopause.
But experts say many scientific and ethical hurdles must be overcome. Read More
Health Ministry Admits Poor Performance in Hospitals
RIYADH The Ministry of Health has admitted to the poor performance of health practitioners who have joined work recently and a critical shortage in manpower and equipment in the primary health care centers.
In a report to the Shoura Council, the ministry said that it was also facing the problem of high operating costs in running hospitals and employing highly efficient health professionals. In response, the Shoura Council demanded that the ministry provide it with detailed information and statistics on the current status of health services, the number of hospitals and health centers, hospital bed capacity compared to the population that these facilities serve in every city and the ministry's plans for tackling the deficiency in the distribution of health services in the Kingdom. Read More
A new drug could reduce the risk of stroke in thousands of patients undergoing brain operations, a new study suggests.
Small strokes are a common complication arising from operations on the brain, but injecting the drug after surgery was found to reduce the number of affected sites by 40 per cent.
While the strokes often cause no harm to the patient, they can be extremely serious and protecting the brain against them could prevent patients suffering severe brain damage, experts said.
Researchers tested the safety of the drug, known as NA-1, on a group of 185 patients undergoing operations to remove a brain aneurysm - a bulge in an artery which can burst and cause bleeding. Read More
