\\\'Send Hajj pilgrims only if capable of resisting MERS\\\'

Saudi Arabia has sent a letter to Bangladesh government asking it to send only those Hajj pilgrims capable of resisting MERS, Religious Affairs secretary Md Babul Hasan said on Wednesday. He said the Saudi foreign ministry sent the letter to the Bangladesh religious affairs ministry through the foreign ministry on Tuesday. So far 354 people have been detected with the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS) in Saudi Arabia, the letter said. Of them, 111 people including two Bangladeshis have died. Bangladeshi pilgrims will be sent after ensuring that they can resist MERS, the secretary said. If the virus infects those who are 60 years or more, they are likely to die, the letter from Saudi Arabia says. It also urged the government to take special preventive measures for children and old people. The letter informed that no antidote for MERS has been invented yet. The strain of coronavirus that causes MERS was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and has remained a global concern since then. It has spread to 22 countries, including Bangladesh, from the Middle East, according to bdnews24.com.