Jordan reports seventh case of coronavirus

A new patient tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, bringing to seven the total number of patients affected by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Jordan since 2012, Petra News Agency quoted the Jordanian Health Ministry as saying. The patient, who is a healthcare worker, had come in contact with a Saudi patient who had tested positive for coronavirus last week, added the ministry. MERS emerged in the Middle East in 2012 and is from the same family as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which killed around 800 people worldwide after first appearing in China in 2002. MERS can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia. Although the worldwide number of MERS infections is relatively small, the more than 40 percent death rate among confirmed cases and the spread of the virus beyond the Middle East is keeping scientists and public health officials on alert