TEHRAN – Since Wednesday, Medical Emergency Organization has performed 1,227 COVID-19 tests at the border of Mehran, to serve the pilgrims of Arbaeen, ILNA reported on Thursday.

Currently, 50 emergency bases providing services to Arbaeen pilgrims are active in the country and 10 clinics and field hospitals have been set up, Hossein Erfani, Deputy head of Medical Emergency Organization said.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, some 2-3 million Iranians annually attended the Arbaeen march. Noting that 153 medical specialists and staff are providing services to the pilgrims, he said that 50 ambulances, 5 ambulance buses, and 9 helicopters and planes are dispatched to provide services during Arbaeen rituals.

Increasing the ambulances at the airports and performing more diagnostic tests on pilgrims, as well as providing more blood products have been taken as other measures, he added.

The Arbaeen pilgrimage, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Shia Muslims, and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Each year, a huge crowd of people flocks to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rituals.

This year, pilgrims must take a flight to Iraq. As a rule, all health protocols, such as vaccination, must be observed.

This year Arbaeen falls on September 27.

Before the outbreak of coronavirus, some 2 to 3 million Iranians attended annually in the Arbaeen march. However, last year, the rituals were held virtually to avoid the transmission of the disease.

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