2 Filipinos cleared of MERS-CoV, discharged from Riyadh hospital

MANILA, Philippines — Two Filipino nurses who were infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have been discharged from the hospital while two others remained confined at the intensive care unit of a hospital, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

“There are only two remaining cases of MersCov involving Filipinos in Saudi Arabia,” Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, spokesperson for the DFA, said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

The two Filipina nurses — aged 29 and 32, are still in a hospital’s intensive care unit and conscious, according to Jose, citing the recent report from the Philippine embassy in Riyadh.

The two other Filipinos, a male and a female, have been released from the hospital after testing negative for the virus.

Jose could not say whether the two would return to work immediately.

“As for the two cases, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh is monitoring their situation and making sure that the two are getting the proper treatment,”
Jose said.

He said the embassy officials in Riyadh have also been in close contact with the respective employers of the Filipino MERS-CoV patients.

The people who contracted MERS-CoV develop severe acute respiratory illness, including fever, cough and shortness of breath.

The dreaded disease was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and has since infected more than 1,000 people and killed hundreds, according to the World Health Organization. SFM