MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that four Filipino nurses, three women and one man, in Saudi Arabia have contracted the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV).
Two of the female nurses remained confined at the intensive care unit (ICU) while the other female and the male nurses were under isolation and observation.
The management of the hospital where the Filipino nurses worked assured that they would be given utmost medical attention.
“The hospital is well equipped to handle MERS-CoV,” DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said, withholding the identity of the nurses and the details of their workplace.
The DFA disclosed, however, that the nurses were attending to MERS-CoV patients before they tested positive for the deadly disease.
This week, there have been 51 new cases of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia. The respiratory disease was first detected in 2012.