S’pore travel agents say MERS in Saudi not affecting pilgrimages

SINGAPORE — Local travel agents offering Umrah packages said the recent spike in the number of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases has not affected their operations.

Tour agencies Shahidah Travel and TM Fouzy Tours & Travel told Channel NewsAsia no cancellations or postponements have been made by pilgrims so far.

They also said that preventive measures have been put in place since last year.

This includes distributing guidebooks to pilgrims on how to maintain hygiene, and telling pilgrims notto visit crowded places and to use masks if they are feeling unwell.

41 pilgrims that returned from Jeddah yesterday (April 24) said they had to make some adjustments to their itinerary for safety precautions.

Noorfazedah Hassan, an Umrah pilgrim, said: “One of the things was we were told not to visit the camel farm. So that’s one of the measures the agent in Singapore informed us. Other than that, everything else was as per normal over there. And because it’s very hot, we take a lot of measures like drinking a lot of water to keep us hydrated.” CHANNEL NEWSASIA