Mers coronavirus infections have soared in Saudi Arabia ahead of the haj pilgrimage, forcing the closure of a major hospital's emergency ward in Riyadh and killing three people, officials said.
The Saudi Gazette said yesterday authorities shut the emergency ward at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, one of the capital's largest hospitals, "after at least 46 people, including hospital staff" contracted the Middle East respiratory syndrome.
The health ministry has said it registered 21 confirmed Mers infections, all except one of them in Riyadh, between August 9 and 15.
There was no immediate explanation for the difference in the figures.
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Health Minister Khalid al-Falih said the hospital "has faced a spread of the coronavirus during the past few weeks, which started as one case."