On MERS-CoV: Some Pinoy nurses in Saudi stop working, fear own safety

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Some Filipino nurses in Saudi Arabia have stopped working in emergency rooms in hospitals, where cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus were admitted.

"A friend (in Riyadh) posted on Facebook a photo of a vacated emergency unit. They have stopped working for fear of their own safety," a source said.

The source, who is from Negros Occidental and now works in Riyadh, requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

On Tuesday, a 45-year-old Negrense nurse succumbed to MERS-CoV in King Fahd Medical City in Riyadh.

The source said that "they are mourning here."

The source further said that there is a hospital there with MERS-CoV patients and is offering its nurses an extra pay of 1,000 riyals (P11,000 to P12,000) per day, however, no nurses took the job.

The body of the Negrense nurse will be returned to the country after two months, the period in which the viral infection will have subsided.

Meanwhile, Arab News reported that a spike of  MERS-CoV infections among medical staff has sparked public panic in another King Fahd Hospital in Jeddah.

Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih announced on Twitter that they have launched an awareness campaign to help stop the spread of the viral infection, which has killed 117 people in the country as of Wednesday.  (FREEMAN)