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MERS war stepped up in Saudi Arabia as 5 lives lost in 1 day

February 21, 2015

Riyadh, Feb 21: Deaths from the MERS virus have surged in the Kingdom, the Health Ministry figures showed on Friday.

The ministry recorded five MERS deaths on Thursday alone, bringing to 16 the number since Feb. 11.

MERS war

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus also infected two more people, the ministry said.

The five victims were four Saudis from Alkhobar, Riyadh and Buraidah, while the fifth patient was an expatriate from Buraidah. The two people infected are from the capital and Alkhobar.

Since June 2012, MERS has claimed 382 lives out of 899 infections. There are currently 29 people being treated at various health facilities in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Keiji Fukuda, assistant director general for health security at the World Health Organization, said at a press conference here Thursday that there should be further discussions on developing a vaccine for camels, because they are passing the virus on to humans. They are also the likely animal source of MERS.

However, this issue was not the sole preserve of the WHO but should take place with companies in the private sector and global regulatory bodies in other sectors, said Fukuda in response to questions from Arab News.

“Our role is to point out what kind of information is needed to have the best possible public health response. This is our main focus for research on developing vaccines,” he said.

“If the virus is in the animal population it is very hard to think of eradication, because we are not going to kill all camels.”

He said that the idea would be to protect people by preventing the virus moving from camels to humans.

“We came here as one team and not separate teams, because we know that the issues are linked together and we should address them as being linked,” Fukuda said.

The WHO official commended the Kingdom’s efforts to fight the virus. “We are seeing a big improvement in the way the Kingdom is handling MERS-CoV, compared with the past, whether in terms of research, prevention measures, curing of cases, and decreasing infections in health care settings.”

Meanwhile, the ministry has organized a major awareness campaign at 2,000 schools. Students will be asked to write a 200-word essay on the virus, its symptoms, precautionary measures, and the medical treatment offered by the state. The ministry also plans to organize lectures, exhibitions and seminars on MERS at schools. Students would be told about the importance of personal hygiene.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Dubai, Apr 11: The UAE has conducted over 49,000 Covid-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents, it was revealed on Friday, using state-of-the-art technology in line with the 's plans to intensify virus screening in order to bring the disease under control.

The accelerated investigative measures helped detect 370 new coronavirus cases among various nationalities, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care.

This took the total number of infections in the country to 3,360, according to a MoHaP statement.

The Ministry also revealed the death of two patients suffering from Covid-19. Both of the deceased were Asian nationals and had pre-existing chronic illnesses. The total number of deaths has now reached 16.

The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

The Ministry also announced the full recovery of 150 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking to 418 the total of those now recovered from the virus in the UAE.

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News Network
May 4,2020

Dubai, May 4: An Indian salesman in the UAE has won a whopping 10 million dirhams at an Abu Dhabi draw, a media report said.

Dileep Kumar Ellikkottil Parameswaran, from Kerala’s Thrissur, works with an auto spare parts company in Ajman and earns 5,000 dirhams (USD 1,361) a month, Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Parameswaran, who won the 10 million dirhams (USD 2.7 million) prize at the Big Ticket draw in Abu Dhabi, will spend a big part of the money to repay a loan of 700,000 dirhams (USD 190,574 ), according to the report.

He said that a good part of the prize money will be spent on the education of his two children.

Parameswaran, who has been a resident of the UAE for 17 years, lives in Ajman along with his family.

Big Ticket is the largest and longest-running monthly raffle draw for cash prizes and dream luxury cars in Abu Dhabi.

A live monthly draw is organized at the Abu Dhabi International Airport on 3rd of each month.

Tickets are sold for 500 dirhams (USD 136).

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Agencies
August 4,2020

Beirut, Aug 4: A massive explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital of Beirut, with a very high number of casualties expected.

A warehouse at the Beirut Port caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a huge explosion, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Several smaller explosions were heard before the bigger one occurred.

Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s General Security, said that “highly explosive materials” confiscated earlier had been stored at the site.

Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the bigger explosion, with a colossal shock wave seen traveling fast across several hundreds of meters and shrouding the area in thick smoke.

The blast left enormous material damage to the surrounding buildings and structures. But it was not immediately known how big an area was affected.

There was also no immediate casualty count. Graphic amateur video from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, with their clothes blown off.

The NNA said rescue operations were underway. Ambulances were seen heading toward the scene in central Beirut.

Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Lebanon’s Health Minister Hamad Hasan as saying that the blast had caused a “very high number of injuries” and “extensive damage.”

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said an unspecified number of firefighters dispatched to extinguish the initial fire had been killed in the explosion.

“As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we’ve [lost them],” he said, breaking down on live TV.

The explosion comes at a time when the Arab country is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades, and amid rising tensions with Israel.

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