KSA exerting all efforts to combat coronavirus

The Kingdom is working around the clock to combat the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), said Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih.
Speaking on behalf of the acting minister, Mansoor Al-Hawasi, deputy health minister for Health Affairs, said there should be a collective effort to wage a war against the spread of the coronavirus.
Al-Hawasi was speaking at a scientific workshop held in cooperation with the Ministry of Education at the ministry headquarters on Monday.
He said the meeting was held to discuss methods of organizing various awareness campaigns to spread awareness on curative and preventive measures to be adopted by members of the public.
Participants included education directors, regional health directors and other government officials who are connected with campaign operations.
He explained that the Kingdom is in touch with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations in finding solutions to combat the spread of the disease.
Health Ministry spokesman Khalid Mirghalani said that this is the largest awareness campaign undertaken by the ministry to control the virus.
He said the Health Ministry wishes to embrace social service organizations working at the grassroots level to make the campaign a success.
Last week, Fakeih urged people to extend their cooperation in combating the MERS coronavirus by taking simple precautions against the disease.
Fakeih made this appeal when he launched a Kingdom-wide awareness campaign on coronavirus in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO). “The government is doing best to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We now need the help of the public in implementing simple precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.”
“The campaign is based on expert medical advice from respected organizations and health care professionals. We would like to thank them for their important contributions in its implementation,” he said.
The public were advised to take extra precautions with raw camel meat.
“Based on expert advice, avoid raw camel meat and liver and unpasteurized camel milk.”
They are also advised to consume well-cooked camel meat.
Tariq Madani, adviser to the Health Ministry, said: “An awareness campaign is an integral part of reaching and communicating with the public. By following these simple, but effective, recommendations, the public can join us in tackling this issue together.
“The Medical Council of the Ministry of Health convened are currently reviewing all the policies and research that can assist in dealing with the virus and ways of diagnosing it,” said Madani.
The campaign is part of an overall strategy to address the public health challenge caused by the deadly virus.