Saudi woman dies of MERS, two expats infected

RIYADH: A Saudi woman died and two expatriate women in their twenties became the latest victims of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) on Monday.
Following a lull of 10 days, the Ministry of Health reported two deaths and one new MERS patient on Sunday. The deceased woman, who was 58 years old, died in a hospital in Quwaiyah, while the two new cases were from the capital.
Since June 2012, the ministry has reported 1,255 cases in the Kingdom which included 539 deaths, 703 recovered cases and 13 currently under treatment at various hospitals in the Kingdom.
Health Ministry spokesman Faisal Al-Zahrani told Arab News that the virus is well under control and on the decline. “We are optimistic, however, we are alert and doing our best to keep the virus away from the public,” he said.
He pointed out that the recent cases reported in the past two days must have incubated for the past two weeks. “There was no direct infection from the camel,” he stressed, pointing out that the suspected animal has been kept away from humans through various awareness programs carried out by the ministry.
On a recommendation made by the ministry, there was a Kingdom-wide ban on the slaughter of camels during the Haj season.
In a bid to control the spread of the virus, the ministry implemented a comprehensive nationwide plan to create public awareness on the spread and control of the disease.