Saudi Schools Make Plans as MERS Spreads

Saudi Arabian health officials are asking that schools develop adequate strategies to help prevent the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) as the entire country of Saudi Arabia braces itself for what seems like a long-term battle against the new and deadly viral infection.

Reports from Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh are saying that an estimated 34,000 public schools are being asked to form plans to protect their students from the spread of MERS and more and more outbreaks of the respiratory infection sweep across the country.

The Saudi Arabian Health Ministry reported another 26 infections of MERS, including ten deaths, over the weekend, bringing the current tally of Saudi Arabian MERS infections to 339 since the virus first appeared in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates back in 2012.

The infection prevention plans being developed by schools in Saudi Arabia must be approved by the health minister and must be coordinated with government health officials, Gulfnews reports.

This request of Saudi Arabian schools was made in the wake of a social-media-spread rumor that a cluster of schools in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah became widely infected after a single student was reportedly discovered to be carrying the virus.

According to Al Eqtisadiya, a local Saudi daily paper, an alarming number of parents in the Jeddah area pulled their children from school soon after the rumor began spreading. However, no Jeddah student was ever officially reported as having a MERS infection.

Earlier last week, the World Health Organization expressed grave concern that an increased prevalence of the virus in Saudi Arabia could directly result in an increased likelihood of the virus spreading to other countries through international travel.

On Saturday, it was reported that a man returning to Egypt from Saudi Arabia was immediately quarantined and hospitalized for MERS upon his arrival to Cairo airport on Friday, fueling these fears.

© MD News Daily.