Thailand's first MERS-CoV patient steadily recovers, nearly 70 quarantined to be discharged July 2

BANGKOK, July 1 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms that the country's first patient of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been steadily recovering, while all 68 people who had close contacts with the first patient will complete their 14-day standard quarantine period on Wednesday night and should be discharged on July 2. Doctor Opas Karnkawinpong, Deputy Director-General of the ministry's Department of Disease Control, told journalists of the updates after a follow-up meeting on the MERS-CoV situation in Thailand, saying, however, that the 75-year-old Omani MERS-CoV patient remains under a close care of medical personnel at the state-run Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute at an isolated ward due to his chronic diseases, while the conditions of his three relatives have remained normal. Doctor Opas stressed that 16 people who had high risk of contracting the deadly virus and 52 others with low risk will complete the 14-day standard quarantine at the midnight of July 1. Doctor Opas noted that for all those in the high risk group must undergo more tests and if results from the laboratory tests were negative again, they should be discharged from the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on July 2, together with all those in the low risk group. According to the senior health official, there are two risk groups of MERS-CoV, with people in the first group including those having close contacts with patients and people in the second group including those travelling from MERS-CoV-hit countries. The senior Thai health official revealed those in the first group have been all quarantined and should all be discharged on July 2. Meanwhile, there have been no reports on new MERS-CoV cases in South Korea lately, but more patients have been reported in Saudi Arabia. People planning to visit MERS-CoV-affected countries, namely South Korea and those in the Middle East, are, thus, warned to properly take care of themselves by following officially-issued guidances. Besides, it is vital to maintain measures on strictly screening all people coming from MERS-CoV-hit areas, with those having suspicious symtoms advised to wear face masks and go to see doctors immediately, as well as report their travel records to doctors and not to use public transport services to prevent any spreading of the fatal virus to others. (TNA)