MERS claims another life in KSA

RIYADH: Another person died of the SARS-like coronavirus MERS and two new cases were registered yesterday, as international experts said countries should standardize their approach to treating the disease.
The experts meeting at the WHO’s Cairo office said countries should enhance surveillance for acute respiratory illness, quickly investigate clusters of pneumonia and report confirmed or probable MERS cases within 24 hours.
The new cases brought the total number of people infected to 55 and deaths in the Kingdom to 33.
The deceased was a patient hospitalized in the Eastern Province on April 26. One of the two new cases is a 41-old-year Saudi woman in Riyadh whose condition is stable.
The second case is a 32-year-old Saudi in the Eastern Region who is being treated for cancer at the ICU.
According to the WHO, the ministry’s latest announcement brings the total number of confirmed cases to 70 worldwide, of which 39 have died.
On Thursday, the ministry recorded four confirmed cases of the virus and all were subsequently discharged from their hospitals bringing the total number of recovered cases to 14 patients. Eight patients are currently undergoing treatment for the virus in various parts of the Kingdom.
Among those who recovered is a 42-year-old Saudi woman in the Eastern region and three female health workers in Taif governorate, whose ages are 45,39 and 29 years.
The official said that the ministry has been taking every possible step to ensure the disease does not spread. He added that the MOH laboratory has tested some 308 samples that were proven negative over a period of three days.