The family of a 56-year-old victim of the MERS coronavirus has called for an investigation into his death.

Members of the family suspect that the 56-year-old deceased, Hasen Al-Nufaiei from Taif, may have been infected with MERS during dialysis treatment at King Abdulaziz Specialized Hospital, according to a recent report in local media.

Two family members, Riyadh and Majid Al-Nufaiei, claimed that he got the virus while undergoing dialysis treatment. They said Hasen suffered from kidney failure. He was a patient at Taif Mental Health Hospital for more than a year, they said.

They called on the ministry to investigate how he fell ill.

Siraj Al-Humaidan, spokesman of the Taif health department, said he was not able to comment on the matter. Only the ministry’s spokesperson, Khaled Al-Marghalani, could do so, he said.

According to the report, Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih recently visited King Abdulaziz Specialized Hospital and criticized the close manner in which dialysis patients had to sit.

As a result, he ordered health director in Taif, Matooq Al-Osaimi, to establish a dialysis center at King Faisal Hospital with a capacity of 120 beds.

The ministry also plans to reduce overuse of dialysis machines by providing up to 20 additional machines at King Faisal Hospital, which will also receive referrals of dialysis patients from King Abdulaziz Hospital.

The ministry has taken several measures to curb the spread of MERS in the summer resort city of Taif. Ten cases of infections were found in the Taif area over the past two weeks.

Measures include finding people who came into contact with the MERS patients, and doctors transferring patients from King Abdulaziz Hospital to King Faisal Hospital, the designated MERS hospital in Taif.

The ministry is also providing Taif with a mobile laboratory to allow for additional testing and expediting the delivery of test results; transferring some of the intensive care patients from King Abdulaziz and King Faisal hospitals to Riyadh and Jeddah; and assessing and monitoring infection control measures at all ministry facilities.