Sami Badaoud, director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, dismissed false reports cited on social networking sites regarding the death of a woman and the infection of several staff workers in Almesaeidih Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Jeddah from coronavirus.

He confirmed that no such cases were recorded yet, adding that all the governorate’s hospitals have separate wards to combat any outbreak of the virus.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah briefed the Saudi Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on the status of coronavirus, which has so far infected 31 people, killing 15 of them in the Kingdom.

The presentation was made by the minister in the presence of Zaid bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Hussein, vice chairman of the Human Rights Commission, and officials from the commission, who visited the headquarters of the Health Ministry last week. In addition to outlining other projects the ministry is embarking upon, Al-Rabeeah detailed the preventive measures undertaken by the government to combat coronavirus and the cooperation it received from international organizations to exchange experiences in the relevant field.

The director emphasized that all the procedures were taken to ensure the virus is contained and are in accordance with the measures outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO), adding that if an infection were to be detected in one of the private sector health facilities, the case would be transferred to a public hospital.

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) and experts on infectious diseases from Canada and the United States also visited the places affected by the virus in the Eastern Province, on an invitation from the Saudi government.

The minister explained that the package of services offered by the ministry is in accordance with the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.

Under the ministry’s "Patients First" program, officials are expected to respect the patients’ rights in all the services rendered by the private and government sector health service providers. Two days ago, the Ministry of Health launched a website to keep the public informed of the developments and the preventive methods against the new coronavirus. The new portal in the ministry’s official website www.moh.gov.sa provides a clearer picture of the nature of the disease, the preventive measures, the victims, places of incidence, FAQ, news releases, video links, social networking sites and other informative portals such as the World Health Organization.

Responding to the presentation made by the minister, Al-Hussein thanked Al-Rabeeah for providing a detailed account of the history of coronavirus in the Kingdom. “We are content with the explanation given by the minister and are now in a position to compare the information against the media reports, to make the right conclusions,” Al-Hussein said.

The commission, he said would always like to receive first hand information from the proper authorities to make the right decisions on crucial matters.

He said the commission is keen on meeting the parties concerned to ensure human rights are preserved in offices, workplaces and various institutions in the Kingdom. He also commended the progressive measures implemented by the Ministry of Health to provide the best health care services to citizens.