Saudi Arabia reports 13 new cases of MERS

The number of cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus infection in Saudi Arabia increased to 463, including 126 deaths, with the registration of 13 new cases and five deaths Friday.

The health ministry highlighted in its portal that one of the deaths was among the new cases that were diagnosed in the last 24 hours, while four deaths were among old cases, Xinhua reported.

Of the victims, there were four men aged 47, 60, 84 and 54 years and a woman aged 62. Two of the men were from Medina and the two from Mecca, while the woman was from Riyadh.

Meanwhile, a woman aged 54 from Jeddah has fully recovered. Among the new cases, five are in stable condition, six in intensive care unit (ICU) and two without symptoms. Eight cases in Riyadh include five women and three men.

Even with new cases and deaths on a daily basis, there is no indication yet how the infection may spread with both Saudi Arabia and the World Health Organisation asserting that the transmission of the virus has not yet reached epidemic proportions.