Healthcare | Monday 9 March, 2015 8:00 am |

The Yanbu Royal Commission has launched an awareness campaign on the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus to combat the deadly disease that has claimed hundreds of lives.
The campaign was launched on Saturday in the presence of Hamed bin Khider, the director general of the General Services, Musa Al-Maliki, director of Property Management and Nayef Eid Al-Otaibi, director of Educational Services.
The drive intends to raise awareness about the virus and about how people should care about in malls, roads, schools and all other public places.
“The aim of communicating with the public is to help them understand the MERS Coronavirus and how to protect themselves and their families from this deadly phenomenon,” said Al-Maliki.
He said it is important to understand the effective medical recommendations to prevent the virus spread and to provide community members with information and guidance that can protect them against the virus.
Adel Bakhit, the head of the Environmental Health Department, said the campaign included distribution of a large number of publications that offer information about the MERS virus.
He said an awareness gallery has been launched at Dana Mall Center in Yanbu to explain the most important preventive means that are being taken by health practitioners.
The Ministry of Health has set up a 24-hour hotline. Callers can dial 937 to get information on MERS and are guaranteed complete confidentiality.
The MERS coronavirus has killed 10 more people in Saudi Arabia over the past week, pushing the death toll above 400, as health officials broaden their campaign to halt its spread. A total of 936 people have been infected with MERS since it was first identified in the kingdom in 2012, and 402 of them have died.