Riyadh: Saudi Arabian King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz on Monday removed Health Minister Abdullah Al Rabie from his post, a day after the health ministry said three more patients who contracted Mers virus have died.
His duties will be taken over by Labour Minister Adel Faqih, state television announced said, citing the king’s royal decree.
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had confirmed 13 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), a Sars-like virus.
The ministry posted details of the deaths in a statement Sunday evening. They included a 49-year-old resident of Jeddah, which has seen a recent spike in infections of the virus. Two others from the southern Najran region and the area around the western city of Madinah also died. Both were 68.
The deaths were among 13 new cases reported in the kingdom.
