31 August 2015 (06:19 UTC-07 Tango 01)/09 Shahrivar 1394/16 Dhu al-Qa’dah 1436/18 Jia-Shen (7th month) 4713
The Health Ministry of Jordan reports three new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in less than a week. This is significant when you realize Jordan had a total of 14 MERS cases between 2012 and the week prior to the new cases.
In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), apparently the origin of the coronavirus, a full blown outbreak is underway; 71 new cases in the past month, and 15 in the past 48 hours. Since 2012, 505 people in KSA have died from MERS, three in the past 48 hours.
However, a doctor with KSA’s National Guard says actual cases and deaths are much higher than what the government is reporting. She should know because she works at the King Fahad National Guard Hospital in Riyadh where, apparently for some odd reason, MERS cases there are not being included in the official reports by the Ministry of Health. (Operation Jupiter)
KSA health administrators are considering a Hajj ban on anybody who has been in contact with a victim of MERS, let alone those who’ve actually been infected. The slaughtering of camels is now banned. It’s has yet to be confirmed but it’s suspected that 90% of camels in the region carry MERS.
The east Asian country of Republic of Korea refuses to officially call an end to the MERS outbreak, despite 40 days without any new cases. So far 36 people have died since the outbreak started in May of this year. An investigation revealed that South Korea’s hospital system actually made the outbreak worse: “As carriers developed symptoms, they wandered around big hospitals with better facilities and equipment without any prior notice. It resulted in medical staffs and families of the patients contracting the virus in a defenseless state.”-Lee Jong-koo, JW LEE Center for Global Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine
The country’s Health Minister is being replaced as a direct result of the outbreak.
Korean Air Lines reported a $144-million USD loss due to crashing numbers of Chinese and Japanese tourist who would have traveled to Korea if not for the MERS outbreak.
The Bank of Korea reported huge drops in tourist revenues, as much as 50%, and sales declines are still ongoing.
People getting sick long after quarantine ends!