PM tells health officials to take care of Thai Muslims during hajj

KRABI, September 15 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has instructed 42 health officials who will operate two temporary hospitals in Mecca to take good care of some 13,000 Thai hajj pilgrims in the Saudi holy city. Public Health Minister Wit-tha-ya Bu-ra-na-si-ri told journalists on Saturday, after leading the 42 Thai health officials who will accompany Thai pilgrims to Mecca to meet Premier Yingluck in the southern resort Krabi Province, that health volunteers will also join his ministry's health officials in the mission in Mecca, with well-prepared basic medicines and necessary medical equipment, to serve the Thai Muslim pilgrims during the hajj, from September 22-November 22, 2012. The Thai Muslim pilgrims, expected to be among about two million global Muslim pilgrims doing hajj in Mecca this year, will start to leave for Mecca on September 17. According to the minister, the Thai Muslim pilgrims will, however, receive influenza and meningococcal vaccines free of charges before their trips. (TNA)