RIYADH: In view of the increasing incidence of MERS in the capital, the Directorate General’s Office of Health Affairs in the Eastern Province has unveiled a set of preventive measures to combat Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus in its region.

The regional directorate has launched a comprehensive awareness program to warn the people of the hazards of the disease and also instruct them on preventive measures that could be taken against the virus.

An official from the directorate said that as a preventive measure, Ministry of Health hospitals will divert patients with respiratory diseases to a separate section so that the infection could be controlled in the event of a patient testing positive.

“The patients will be categorized into three types such as green, yellow and red, which will indicate the condition of the patient as stable, medium and critical cases respectively,” he said.

Besides these preventive measures, hospital staff, including the auxillary workers, have been instructed to take maximum precautions when dealing with patients suffering from respiratory problems. They have also been asked to wear facemasks during their working hours.

Hospital authorities have been further advised to minimize the transfer of patients from one ward to another for various reasons.

Medics and paramedics have also been advised to keep the elevators (lifts) clean and tidy, and disinfect them following the transport of living or dead infected patients. Maximum preventive measures will be taken even inside morgues when dealing with dead bodies.

The official said that orientation programs are conducted regularly to keep the staff updated with the latest advances against the spread of the disease.

Meanwhile the Health Ministry reported on Tuesday the death of a 30-year-old Saudi woman and four fresh cases in Riyadh. The total number of cases has reached 1,188 which includes 510 deaths, 613 recovered patients and 65 cases under treatment.

On Monday, the ministry said that during a period of seven days, ending August 29, a total of 33 of the 34 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus cases in the Kingdom were from Riyadh and another from Najran.