JEDDAH — One more patient in Saudi Arabia has succumbed to novel coronavirus, bringing the global death toll of the SARS-like virus to eight. A man in his 60s died Wednesday of the virus at a hospital in Al-Qassim, according to the Ministry of Health's undersecretary for public health, Dr. Ziyad Mimish. Two samples were taken from the patient's blood before his death and were sent to a domestic laboratory and a European one. Both results were positive, Dr. Mimish said. He noted that the persons who were in contact with the old man had undergone medical tests and the results were negative. Dr. Mimish urged the general public not to panic because this virus is rare and only very few cases have been recorded in the Kingdom and Britain. The World Health Organization (WHO) said the the latest victim was hospitalized Feb. 10 and died within ten days of hospitalization. The case pushed the global number of confirmed infections of the new virus to 14, some of which might have been transmitted through close person-to-person contact, according to the Geneve-based world health regulatory body. The new coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause a variety of ailments including the common cold and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). A global SARS outbreak in 2003 killed about 800 people worldwide, including dozens in Taiwan. — SG
