JEDDAH — A senior health official has said public fears of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus are no longer justified. “These fears may be justified and understandable when the virus was first discovered late 2012 but not any more,” said undersecretary of the Health Ministry Dr. Abdulaziz Bin Saeed. He added that the country knows how to take precautions against the disease. Saeed, also chairman of the ministry's command and control center, said since the outbreak of the virus in September 2012 a total of 1,014 people have contracted the disease and 562 cases have recovered. “This is a small number compared to the victims of traffic accidents who die in their thousands every year,” he said. Saeed noted that with the cooperation of camel breeders and shepherds coronavirus cases have decreased sharply. “For three years the Kingdom has been handling the coronavirus very well. It has successfully applied all the international health measures to combat the virus.” The undersecretary said the ministry has now accumulated enough experience to deal with all infectious diseases and said the continued awareness health programs will further curb the spread of contagious diseases. “The situation regarding coronavirus is much better now than last year,” he said, asking health facilities and people to strictly apply precautionary measures. He said the problem of coronavirus in the Kingdom lies with camels, which predominantly carry the disease. “As long as there are camels, coronavirus will continue to exist,” he said. Saeed said the virus came back this year because of the camel-breeding season. He said health practitioners who do not report suspected coronavirus cases will be subject to imprisonment of a maximum term of six months and a fine of about SR100,000 or both. “There will also be other punishments including the closure of the health facility, the rescinding of the license of the health practitioner and preventing him/her from working in the Kingdom again,” he said. He, however, said no one has been jailed for such a crime. The undersecretary said any case of pneumonia is treated as a suspected coronavirus patient until tests prove otherwise.
