A foreigner has died from the MERS coronavirus, while eight people, including five health workers, have been infected by the deadly disease in Jeddah.

The death of the 45-year-old man, whose nationality has not been disclosed, brings the nationwide toll in the Kingdom to 68.

The Health Ministry announced late Saturday the death of the expat and said that five health workers, two women and three men, in addition to three other people, had been infected by the virus in Jeddah, while one person is said to have been affected in Bisha.

Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah visited hospitals in Jeddah on Saturday in a bid to calm residents.

A study has said the virus has been “extraordinarily common” in camels for at least 20 years and may have been passed directly from animals to humans. Dr. Khaled Mirghalani, ministry spokesman, backed the theory linking the virus with camels, but pointed out that identity of its carrier to humans has yet to be determined.

Dr. Ziyad Memish, assistant deputy minister for preventive medicine, said three-fourths of cases reported in the Kingdom had no connection with camels.

Meanwhile, Yemen reported its first case of the MERS on Sunday in a further spread. The victim is a Yemeni aeronautics engineer, Al-Thawra newspaper quoted the health minister as saying.