Plan to make bracelets mandatory for all Hajis

The Ministry of Health is considering a plan to make pilgrims wear electronic bracelets that contain their personal data.

Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Duwailie said such information will make it a lot easier the identification of the pilgrims in emergency situations.

“We will prepare the bracelets in cooperation with Alem company for electronics and we will make it mandatory for both internal and external pilgrims to wear,” he said.

The official cited difficulties in identifying some of the pilgrims who died in the crane crash inside the Grand Mosque and the Mina stampede during the last Haj season.

“The bracelet will enable us to recognize any pilgrim immediately by name, nationality, age, the Tuwafa establishment to which he or she belongs and the place of accommodation,” he said.

Duwailie said the Haj will take place in hot summer during the next 10 years and said shades should be established in places where the pilgrims assemble to wait for trains or buses to protect them from extreme heat.

He said last year the ministry prepared eight hospitals, 125 health centers and 180 ambulances to serve the pilgrims in Makkah and the holy sites.

“Immediately after the conclusion of the previous pilgrimage, we began meetings to prepare for the next season taking into account all the negative observations and shortcomings to avoid them in future,” he said.

The deputy minister said the ministry has decided to make its Haj and Umrah committee a permanent panel in Makkah to coordinate early with all the other concerned government and private departments.