RIYADH — The Ministry of Health is continuing its care and close monitoring of MERS-coronavirus cases arising from the cases detected recently in Taif area. These include five confirmed cases in Riyadh that started as direct infection from a patient who came to the city from Taif area last month.
The medical analyses have shown that four patients and a medical staff at Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Hospital in Riyadh have been infected with MERS-coronavirus from the patient who was hospitalized on Oct. 18. Subsequently, two of the infected persons died while the third was cured and was discharged from the hospital.
Another patient is still under medical observation in the reference center allocated by the Ministry of Health for coronavirus cases. The center is Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Hospital.
The ministry said the Command and Control Center in the Ministry of Health discovered the cases through the epidemics monitoring system. It immediately sent a rapid response team – IPC to carry out measures to prevent and control the infection in the mentioned hospital.
Apart from scrutinizing the measures taken, the ministry isolated the medical staff and workers who came in contact with the patient so as to evaluate their condition. Over 200 people who came in contact with the patient including medical staff and his family members were tested in order to make sure that they have not been afflicted with the virus.
Deputy chairman of the Command and Control Center in the Ministry of Health Dr. Anees Sindhi said that coronavirus is still active hence the readiness and preparedness of the command center. He said those working in the medical sector must take all necessary precautions to protect themselves and their patients.
Sindhi said the Command and Control Center is continuing joint work with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American center for disease control and prevention (CDC) to investigate the original cases in Taif area from where the infection started.
Meanwhile, assistant undersecretary of the ministry of health for preventive medicine and coordinator with WHO, Dr. Abdullah Aseeri said renal dialysis patients have a weak immunity system so they have a higher probability of being infected with coronavirus than ordinary patients. Furthermore, the usual symptoms of the disease do not appear in them. So it is required of hospitals to monitor these patients closely. They should be isolated when MERS symptoms appear.
The Ministry of Health called on all to visit the website of the Command and Control Center at the ministry to know the latest statistics and the methods of preventing infection: https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/ccc/pages/default.asp
Mishal Al-Otaibi - Saudi Gazette
