New cases of MERS coronavirus infection are reported in Saudi Arabia. A few days before the pilgrimage to Mecca.
A few weeks before the start of the 2015 pilgrimage (Hajj), a record of faithful is expected in Mecca. To get an idea of the scale of the event, there are for example 26,729,709 pilgrims who have made a presence in the Great Mosque of the city, ie 4.6% more than in 2014. Figures which worry the Saudi authorities, since the new coronavirus is more than ever back in the Wahhabi kingdom.
19 dead in one week
The number of deaths from the MERS-CoV coronavirus (Middle East respiratory syndrome) has, in fact, increased in Saudi Arabia just before this annual pilgrimage, with 19 deaths in one week, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday. Since the beginning of August 2015, 98 cases have been identified, including 25 fatalities.
Emergencies closed in Riyadh
In this context of panic, the Saudi authorities were even forced to close the emergency department of one of the main hospitals in Riyadh after the census of 46 infections, including among members of the nursing staff. King Abdulaziz Medical City.
In total, 502 people have died in the Kingdom as a result of contamination, since the appearance of the virus in 2012 (according to updated statistics published on the website of the ministry). The number of people infected with the virus in Saudi Arabia has also increased to 1,171.
As a reminder, the new coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a pulmonary infection that appeared in 2012, which mainly strikes Saudi Arabia. This virus is deadlier, but less contagious, than that of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 800 people worldwide in 2003. The Seas coronavirus has a death rate of around 35%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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