Report MERS cases to ministry or face jail, doctors told

The Ministry of Health emphasized on Wednesday the importance of reporting all cases of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) infections immediately to the ministry. This is part of the effort to curb the spread of the virus. The emphasis was in a ministerial circular all health directorates in the Kingdom. The circular stated that all health care practitioners at any health care facility, whether governmental or private, should immediately report any case of coronavirus to the ministry using the Health Electronic Surveillance Network (HESN), that is already in place at all facilities. “Failure in reporting or delays in reporting will subject the health care practitioner to severe punishment,” said the ministry. “The penalties are either a fine of SR100,000 or six months in jail or both.” In addition, the practitioner failing to report the problem may be liable for additional punishment including cancelation of permission to practice medicine and removal from the list of approved health care practitioners in the country, the ministry added. -arabnews