Cairo: More than 80 samples are collected daily from inside the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to ensure the quality of the air, the blessed Zamzam water, and the food provided for worshippers there, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.
The sample-taking and testing process, conducted by the state agency, the General Authority for the Care of the Two Holy Mosques, also includes the rooftops of the site that attracts millions from inside and outside Saudi Arabia throughout the year.
The samples are examined at an epidemiology lab at the mosque, and they include 50 samples from Zamzam, 20 from food and palm date items, 10 from the rooftops, and others from the air, as reported by SPA
“The lab uses three types of analyses to ensure the highest standards of quality,” said Hassan Al Sawhiri, the head of the mosque’s prevention and health care department.
He cited strict supervision on Zamzam water, food quality, cleaning and carpet sterilisation works as well as other facilities at the sprawling site.
“Samples are also taken from the carpets, drinking facilities, electric escalators, cabins, shelves holding copies of the Holy Quran, plastic barriers, gates, and rooftops, etc, “ the official added.
10 million pilgrims expected
Saudi Arabia expects around 10 million Muslims from abroad during the current Umrah season.
The season started six months ago after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage season that around 1.8 million Muslims attended in Saudi Arabia for the first time in three years after the pandemic-related restrictions were lifted.
Zamzam containers are already provided for the faithful at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Medina.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has advised pilgrims to avoid spilling Zamzam on the floor, keep the sites clean, and dispose of used water cups in designated places. The faithful are also advised against using supplies of the water in performing ritual ablutions.
Robots were introduced during the annual Hajj pilgrimage season to give away Zamzam bottles at the Grand Mosque without human intervention.
