Acting Health Minister going round the health facilities in Makkah on Sunday night.

Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih said in Makkah on Sunday that there is a remarkable decline in the number of new MERS coronavirus cases in the Kingdom in recent days.

The minister made this statement when he visited the Jiyad Hospital, health facilities and the central laboratory in Makkah on Sunday night.

He thanked authorities who made concerted efforts to wage a successful battle against the virus. There have been no new cases over the past four days, he said.

The spread of the disease has been brought well under control, indicating that there were no new cases since Thursday.

MERS has claimed 295 lives and infected 721 people since September 2012.

A total of 39 people are still undergoing treatment and 387 patients were discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

One death and four new cases have been recorded in a seven-day period.

The casualties were were all Saudi men from Taif, Riyadh and Hofuf, while a Saudi man, aged 70, died in Taif.

Among the major measures taken by the Ministry of Health to combat the virus was the launch of a Kingdom-wide awareness campaign on the coronavirus in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) by Fakeih.

During his visit to the Jiyad hospital, the minister listened to the progress made by the hospital in offering premium health care services to men, women and children.

The minister also urged health authorities to offer top-class health care services to pilgrims and local patients. No pilgrims has been affected by MERS so far.

Aside from 151 beds in intensive care units and 278 beds for emergency patients, there are 1,836 hospital beds in Makkah.

There are nine hospitals and 86 primary health care centers in the holy city.

 
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