RIYADH — Two Saudi men died of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) during the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday. It said one of the two Saudi men died in a government hospital in Hofuf while the other victim died in Thaima. "Both cases had been previously registered and the patients were under treatment," the ministry said in a statement issued by its command and control center. The center also reported that three new cases of coronavirus were reported, one each in Hofuf, Khafji and Thaima. Since the virus was first discovered in the Kingdom in September 2012, it has affected as many as 970 people of whom 421 have died. According to the center, 18 patients who contracted coronavirus are currently receiving treatment in special centers in government hospitals in a number of regions. Two cases are being quarantined in their homes. The center said there has been a spike in the number of deaths and new infections of the deadly virus over the past few weeks. As many as 60 patients have died of the virus in the period between Feb. 10 and March 10.
