The Saudi Ministry of Health has revised the toll of infections and deaths caused by the coronavirus on the rise. While it stood at 575 cases of infection and 190 deaths, it was reassessed at 688 infections and 282 deaths. The virus appeared in Saudi Arabia in 2012, making this country the main center of the disease worldwide.
If the World Health Organization (WHO) declared in mid-May that there would be no global public health emergency, the French authorities advise “the elderly, those with chronic illnesses, pregnant women and children not to perform the minor pilgrimage (Umrah) and the great pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca this year.” The MERS coronavirus causes an infection of the lungs which can cause fever, cough, difficulty breathing and in some cases kidney failure. No treatment for the disease is available at this time.
Among the geographic areas at risk are included: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen. The WHO recalls that the risk of transmission human interaction is proven but limited. For this reason, no travel restriction measures to or from these countries due to the coronavirus are justified.
