The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced that infections of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have dropped for the fourth consecutive week.

“Only three cases were detected last week,” it said in its weekly report on the status of the virus.

The ministry’s announcement comes as part of its transparency policy aimed at keeping the public informed on the latest developments of the disease, assuring the public that its efforts to fight the virus commissioned by ministry’s Command and Control Center (CCC) were gaining momentum.

While laboratories of the ministry tested 1,336 samples upon the request of CCC, the Rapid Intervention Teams (RIT) for prevention of hospital-acquired infections of the virus visited seven health care facilities to insure that infection control measures against the virus are in place and followed properly.

Also, the public health teams assigned to examine people who were in contact with persons proved to test positive with the virus, isolated 12 cases of these people as a precautionary measure until tests prove they are not positive.

The Kingdom-wide public awareness campaign launched by the ministry against MERS-CoV under the name “Nigdar Niwaqqifha” (We can stop it) is going on in major cities.

The total number of people affected with the virus, since its discovery in June 2012 up until Monday, reached 977, out of whom 543 were cured, 427 died, and seven are under treatment including the three cases reported last week.

Meanwhile, the MoH has formed more RIT’s by increasing their members to more than 1,200 across the Kingdom. These teams, introduced by the former acting health minister, Adel Fakeih, have been designated and tasked with MERS-CoV infections and future health challenges, with the aim of addressing cases throughout the Kingdom.

The ministry emphasized that the CCC is closely monitoring all health care facilities, whether governmental or private, to check compliance to infection control instructions and protocols set up by the ministry as preventative measures against health care facility acquired infections of the virus.

Also, the ministry said that it is consulting and coordinating with other relevant government authorities and international health organizations like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, US, for the latest knowledge and measures in fighting the virus.