RIYADH — The Ministry of Health has said the number of people currently receiving treatment in various hospitals in the Kingdom for the potentially fatal Middle Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) rose to 65, with seven new cases reported in Riyadh on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Undersecretary for Public Health Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Saeed explained measures taken to contain the coronavirus causing the disease.
The press conference was held in the backdrop of the recent surge in the number of infections at King Fahd National Guard Hospital in Riyadh's King Abdulaziz Medical City.
Bin Saeed said a total of 53 people, including four medical practitioners, contracted the virus at the hospital. He said 17 of the patients died, 32 of them are receiving treatment in hospitals, three are quarantined at home and one patient was discharged after treatment.
As many as 1,141 MERS cases were recorded in the Kingdom since the beginning of 2012 when the disease was first identified.
The Ministry of Health posts the latest statistics and information about MERS on its websites: http://www.moh.gov.sa/Pages/Default.aspx and http://www.moh.gov.sa/CCC/Pages/default.aspx.
