RIYADH – Acting Health Minister Adel Fakeih said there was an 80 percent drop in the number of coronavirus infections in the country over the past six weeks.

He said the ministry has taken extraordinary measures to ensure safety of Haj and Umrah pilgrims from the disease.

Fakeih made the remarks following a meeting with Shoura Council President Sheikh Abdullah Al-Asheikh and members of the council’s health and environment affairs committee on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Agriculture Fahd Balghunaim. Fakeih denied reports that said summer temperatures will help destroy the deadly virus responsible for the Middle Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

The Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that a review of health data had identified an additional 113 confirmed cases of MERS that had not been previously recorded, bringing the total number of cases to 688.

The death toll from the MERS coronavirus has been raised to 282 from 190, the ministry said.