Thermal cameras have been installed at Saudi Arabia’s Great Mosque of Mecca to detect devotees with a fever in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, inaugurated the thermal camera at the Great Mosque of Mecca on 29th April.
Al-Sudais said the cameras will detect if a devotee has a high fever and he praised the modern technique for ensuring the safety of worshippers.
He told local media: “It is our duty to use technology in the service of the safety and security of our people, to promote preventive and precautionary measures and fight the pandemic.”
According to local media, the cameras have been set up at the gates of Fahd, Ismael, and Safa and they operate 24×7.
Al-Sudais said: “Days (will come) when the sorrow will be driven away from the Islamic Ummah and we return to the Two Holy Mosques for tawaf (circumambulation around the Holy Kaaba), sa’i (a ritual of hastening between the hills of Safa and Marwa) and praying at Al-Rawdah Sharif and greet the Prophet.”
Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said on social media that devotees will soon return to the holy sites under the “wise leadership” of the Saudi authorities.
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Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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