Two more Saudis — a nurse and an elderly man — died in Jeddah of the MERS coronavirus on Sunday, the Health Ministry has announced.

It also said that a doctor in Jeddah who was inflicted by the virus was in recovery mode. “We have found 356 suspected cases during the past week,” sabq.org quoted the ministry as saying.

The electronic newspaper said medical tests have proved that three health workers in the city have contracted the disease, adding that they are stable. “An 70-year-old man who was suffering from MERS, along with other chronic diseases, died today,” the ministry said.

It added that it would continue efforts to enlighten the public against MERS while taking preventive measures against the spread of the virus.

There have been 163 cases of the coronavirus since September 2012, 64 of which were fatal. The ministry has been implementing a system to monitor the mutation of the disease both within and outside the Kingdom.