Saeed Al Khotani Saudi Gazette RIYADH – More than 1,300 people have been examined so far for suspected MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-coronavirus) infection, Dr. Khalid Marghalani, spokesman of the Ministry of Health, announced here on Tuesday. “Those who have been examined had respiratory problems and were in close contact with coronavirus patients,” he said. “Of the 1,300 suspected cases, only 39 were confirmed to be suffering from coronavirus infection,” Marghalani added. Speaking on the occasion of launching the second phase of the campaign against the novel virus from the SARS family, he said that the aim of the campaign was to update the community and professionals on the latest on the virus and create greater awareness among them on possible ways of prevention and treatment. The campaign includes placing advertisements in media outlets and putting posters in public. The Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that three more people had died from the new respiratory virus, bringing the total number of deaths in the Kingdom to 24. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday prior to the latest Saudi announcement that it had been informed of 51 confirmed cases of the virus since September and 30 of those cases were fatal. On Friday, Italy reported its first case of coronavirus. A 45-year-old man who had been traveling in Jordan was admitted to a hospital in Tuscany.
