The deadly MERS coronavirus claimed another nine lives and infected 32 people in the last 48 hours, bringing the death toll to 126 since September 2012.
A total of 463 people have been infected since the virus first manifested itself, according to a statement by the Ministry of Health.
Five men were among the latest victims to have succumbed to the virus, while the youngest victim was a 45-year-old woman, who died in Riyadh. Twenty of the infected patients were men and 12 women.
There were 14 MERS patients in Riyadh, 11 in Jeddah, four in Madinah, one in Makkah, one in Najran and one in Taif.
Among the fully recovered patients were a 16-year-old woman, who was discharged from a government hospital in Riyadh, and a 54-year-old woman who recently left a government hospital in Jeddah.
According to a report from Manila, a 45-year-old Filipino nurse from Negros Occidental died of the virus at the King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh on Tuesday.
A source at the hospital said on Thursday that the death had been reported to the Philippine Embassy, adding that three Filipino nurses, of whom two women and one man, were reportedly infected by the virus and have been quarantined at the hospital where they work. The victim was an emergency room nurse at the King Fahd Medical City.
Her husband in Manila said his wife succumbed to renal failure with very low blood pressure, all symptoms of the MERS.
The husband said his wife underwent dialysis the day before she died and had earlier undergone a bypass operation.
Meanwhile, many butchers in Dammam have stopped stocking camel meat because of MERS fears.
This comes after acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih recently issued a warning for people to avoid consuming camel meat and milk.
While some citizens said they would continue eating camel products, others plan to abstain.
Many shops in Dammam have no camel meat and workers said that demand has dropped after reports that these animals may be passing MERS on to humans.
Muhammad Al-Hajri, a citizen, said people are afraid of MERS. “Everyone should protect themselves and take the advice of Health Ministry specialists. When the minister of health advised citizens not to eat camel meat, we took it seriously. We should cooperate with the authorities to prevent the virus from spreading.”
Muhammad Abdulrahman said: “There has been much speculation in the past about the link between camels and MERS. However, the minister’s recent statement has made the situation clear.
“Citizens and residents should take this advice and cooperate to prevent the virus spreading.”
Saleh Al-Wadai said he would continue buying camel meat because he prefers it. He believes there is no link between MERS and camels. He said nothing has happened to him from eating their meat.
Some shop owners have decided to stop buying and selling camel meat to avoid losing money. They said demand has dropped dramatically and that shop owners and customers are anxious about the situation.
Bassam Amin, a salesman at a shop in central Dammam, confirmed that many citizens are reluctant to buy camel meat, and are following Fakeih’s advice.
“Shops need to stop buying camel meat to avoid financial losses. Customers and shop owners are in a state of anticipation and anxiety, but there is still demand for camel meat from some regular customers,” he said.
