Saudi Health Minister Hamad al-Manie told reporters last week that pilgrims from the Republic of Congo will not be allowed at the hajj this year because of a recent Ebola epidemic there.
But he said there was no ban on Chinese pilgrims, despite the re-emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS killed 774 people worldwide last year, and three new cases have emerged in China since December.
Scanners to detect arriving pilgrims with high body temperatures -- a possible sign of SARS -- have been installed at airports, where 500 health workers have been deployed, said Khaled bin Saleh al-Sawaf, director of health services in Jiddah.
Arriving in Mecca is not always easy, with pilgrims facing bureaucratic hassles in home countries, visa problems, corruption and bad logistics.
About 6,000 Iraqi pilgrims, stranded at the border with Kuwait for several days because of problems with visas and flight schedules began trickling into Kuwait late Sunday and flying on to Saudi Arabia.
The pilgrims were initially supposed to fly directly to Saudi Arabia from Baghdad International Airport, but US authorities -- who control the airport -- blocked the flights for security reasons.
In all, some 30,000 Iraqi pilgrims are expected to make the pilgrimage this year, the largest contingent in 35 years, free from Saddam Hussein's restrictions.
In Indonesia, many potential pilgrims are fuming this year because of a government bungle that meant last-minute cancellations for 30,000 participants. Jakarta asked Saudi Arabia for an extra 30,000 visas, and sold the tickets, wrongly assuming its quota request would be granted.
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