Senegal detects COVID-19 among returning pilgrims after extreme heat at Hajj

Authorities report that out of 124 rapid diagnostic tests conducted, 78 tested positive for the virus.

This year's Hajj pilgrimage was marred by extreme heat, with temperatures soaring beyond 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), resulting in over 1,300 fatalities.

A tally Senegal’s Health Minister, Ibrahima Sy, suspects that respiratory syndromes such as COVID-19 may have contributed to the death toll.

"Initially, we thought it was related to heatwaves because the temperature was excessively high, but we realised that there is a respiratory syndrome with the cases of death," Sy said.

"We told ourselves that, probably, there is a respiratory epidemic, and it was our duty to be able to monitor the pilgrims on their return by putting in place a screening system for everything COVID-19 related," he added.

In response, the Senegalese health ministry has tightened its health surveillance system by deploying a team at the airport to provide voluntary screening tests and identify pilgrims suffering from flu-like illnesses.

More than 1.8 million Muslims participated in this year's Hajj pilgrimage, including 12,000 pilgrims from Senegal.