RIYADH — The Ministry of Health said in its weekly bulletin that it recorded 12 confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) from May 31 to June 6 in Hofouf, Jeddah and Riyadh. The ministry's laboratories tested 839 samples during the week, the statement said, adding that 563 cases of coronavirus infections out of a total of 1,026 confirmed cases (54.9 percent) since the outbreak started in 2012 have recovered. The MERS virus belongs to the family of coronaviruses that includes the common cold and SARS and can cause fever, breathing problems, pneumonia and kidney failure. There is no vaccine or cure for MERS, which, according to WHO data, has a fatality rate of around 35 percent.
