MAKKAH — The number of pilgrims who suffered from heat exhaustion reached 500 on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health.

The official spokesman for the ministry, Dr. Mohammed Al-Abdali, said more than 166,000 pilgrims were provided with healthcare services so far. He pointed out that the general health of the pilgrims is reassuring and no outbreaks or infectious diseases threatening public health were detected.

Speaking at a press conference, Al-Abdali stated that the pilgrims completed the standing at Arafat Tuesday evening and proceeded to perform the remaining rituals, including their overnight stay in Muzdalifah. He highlighted the success of the Ministry of Health's preparations and its operations plan for the Arafat Standing, which is the peak of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

He pointed out that the ministry's preparations had several aspects, including the participation of all sectors by fielding about 36,000 cadres, 32,000 of them from the Ministry of Health alone. The number of volunteers who participated in providing healthcare services exceeded 7,600 this year.

Al-Abdali said the Ministry of Health had equipped several field hospitals in Arafat, with a bed capacity of more than 800 beds, and 45 centers, and underscored the services and contributions by other ministries, government agencies, and centers in delivering healthcare services to the pilgrims.

He appreciated the healthcare efforts by the Ministry of Defense, which resulted in three field hospitals, and the Ministry of National Guard, whose efforts focussed on equipping a center for addressing heat exhaustion cases.

The Health Ministry spokesman pointed out that 400 pilgrims with worse health conditions were given support to join the health convoy that took them on Tuesday to stay in Arafat, which is inevitable for the fulfillment of Hajj.

He stated that a total of more than 166,000 people had been provided with various health services so far. The number of heat exhaustion cases reached 500, and they received quick treatment.

For his part, Ministry of Interior's Security Spokesman Colonel Talal Al-Shalhoub announced that the first phase of the Hajj security plan had been implemented successfully following the transportation of pilgrims from Makkah to the holy sites over the past 24 hours.

He said that pilgrims’ ascension to the plains of Arafat and their prayers there were performed in complete tranquility and peace after they spent the Day of Tarwiyah in Mina, thanks to the strict implementation of the traffic and organizational plan for the transportation of pilgrims to the holy sites.

The spokesman added that the second phase of the plan was being implemented to transport pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah to spend the night there before they would resume their journey back to Mina to perform the symbolic stoning of the Satan at the Jamarat and to the Grand Mosque to perform Tawaf Al-Ifadah, the main circumambulation of the Kaabah in Hajj.

Al-Shalhoub commended the role of security personnel in implementing the second phase of the Hajj plan, which entails organizing the traffic and pedestrian movement between Arafat, Muzdalifah, and Mina. The spokesman called on the pilgrims to abide by the regulations during their movement in the holy sites.

The spokesman highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in improving smart Hajj applications, which were developed in partnership with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA).

For his part, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for Hajj Affairs Ayed Al-Ghuwainem said that the ascension and transportation of pilgrims to Arafat and other holy sites had been carried out according to an integrated plan.

He added that around 20,000 buses were used to transport the pilgrims between Mina and Arafat via 11 routes with the support of more than 42,000 drivers and 195 support vehicles.

Al-Ghuwainem stressed that the success witnessed in the system of transportation and Tawfeej (grouping of pilgrims) was the result of the partnership with the Ministry of Interior and more than 32 agencies from different sectors. It was achieved after implementing a series of mock drills in transportation and Tafweej in the field to check on the readiness and identify areas that needed development to address them and make alternative plans to respond to potential risks.

Al-Ghuwainem stated that the ministry supervised the provision of more than 2,700,000 beds for pilgrims and those in charge of their services in Makkah and Madinah.

The spokesman for the transport and logistics system, Saleh Al-Zuwaid, confirmed the integration of plans among all relevant government agencies. He said the arrival of pilgrims from their countries by air, sea, and land ports was a smooth process as was their movement between Makkah, Madinah, and the holy sites. In a record time of an hour before the set time, about 300,000 pilgrims were transported via the Mashaer train. The rest of the pilgrims were transported by more than 20,000 modern buses equipped with all requirements to transport the pilgrims.

Al-Zuwaid said this Hajj season, self-driving buses were introduced to carry the pilgrims within the holy sites, an experiment with initial results reported to be successful.