Saudi Arabia denies case of coronavirus infection

The Saudi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a tweet that there were no cases of the novel coronavirus so far.

January 24, 2020 08:00 am | Updated December 04, 2021 10:35 pm IST - RIYADH:

This undated image released by the British Health Protection Agency shows an electron microscope image of a coronavirus, part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS, which was first identified last year in the Middle East.

This undated image released by the British Health Protection Agency shows an electron microscope image of a coronavirus, part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS, which was first identified last year in the Middle East.

A Saudi health ministry affiliate said on Thursday there were no cases of coronavirus in the kingdom, denying earlier reports of an expatriate resident being infected .

Earlier, India's Minister of State for External Affairs said an Indian nurse working at a hospital in southwestern Saudi Arabia has been infected by the coronavirus and was being treated, amid an outbreak that has killed at least 18 people in China .

But the Saudi Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a tweet that there were no cases of the novel coronavirus so far.

 

Another statement from the Saudi health ministry said that the case mentioned in the Indian minister's tweet was related to an infection with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and was being dealt with.

“The ministry has taken all the precautionary measures to deal with this global issue and is in close coordination with all concerned entities,” the statement added.

 

The kingdom said on Wednesday it would start screening passengers arriving from China and take other preventive measures following the outbreak in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

The virus, which can pass from person to person , has been reported in Thailand, Japan and South Korea, raising concerns about its spread through international air travel. More than 630 people have been infected, mostly in China, but cases have been detected as far away as the United States.

Elsewhere in the Gulf region, Qatar and Bahrain called on their citizens in China to exercise caution against the virus, the state news agency reported on Thursday.

Kuwait's Ministry of Health said that thermal cameras were added to border crossings so passengers arriving from countries affected with coronavirus could be thermally screened, according to the state news agency.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.