Four new MERS cases recorded this week after a lull

RIYADH: The Ministry of Health reported four new cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) this week.

The Command and Control Center (CCC), the disease fighting agency of the Health Ministry, recorded no new MERS case on Wednesday while one confirmed case was reported on Tuesday. The patient has been identified as a 17-year-old Saudi girl from Zulfi. Her condition is stable.

The center also reported three new confirmed cases on Monday, which includes a 74-year-old Saudi man from Bisha. His condition is stable. A 76-year-old Saudi man in Hail and 29-year-old Saudi man in Riyadh also have been identified as having the virus. Both men were reported to be critical condition.

Two of those patients were infected with MERS following direct contact with camels.

An estimated total of 905 patients have recovered from the illness.

Twelve patients are currently under treatment at various hospitals in the Kingdom, while the death toll is listed at 651 patients since the Corona-virus first emerged in the Kingdom in June 2012.

The Health Ministry has issued repeated warnings to stay away from camels.

Individuals who work on farms are advised to take maximum precautions against the virus by wearing face masks, isolating infected animals and following the basic principles of hygiene.

The CCC carries out epidemiological surveillance tasks to make sure that all governmental and private health facilities are applying infection control measures and coordinating with the relevant agencies.