Over 3 million Muslims, including dozens of thousands of Egyptians, travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah or the "minor pilgrimage" every year. However, about 60% of Egyptian pilgrims decided against performing this ritual, following the warning from the Egyptian Health Ministry, the paper said.
Egypt so far has not been affected by the so-called "swine flu," but the authorities are taking emergency steps to prevent the possible spread of the deadly virus in the country.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization have reported more than 3,100 confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide in 30 countries, including more than 1,100 in Mexico, at least 1,639 in the United States and 242 in Canada.
Japan and Australia reported their first cases on Saturday morning, while Canada said the A/H1N1 flu killed its first patient raising the confirmed global toll from the virus to 48.
