Saudi Arabia: Two new fatal MERS cases.

Saudi Arabia: Two new fatal MERS cases.HT: Croft.

Via the Ministry of Health's Arabic corona page: Health: registered cases of HIV infection (Corona) New in the Riyadh region. A Google translation:

In the framework of the epidemiological investigation and ongoing follow-up carried out by the Ministry of Health for HIV (Corona) new syndrome that causes  Middle East of MERS-CoV respiratory ministry announces the registration of two cases in the Riyadh region. 

First of a citizen at the age of 78 years old, suffers from several chronic diseases, has died of God's mercy.  The second case to another citizen at the age of 55 years old and suffering from chronic diseases, has died God's mercy.

The English page has the updated numbers—119 cases, 51 deaths—but not the news release. Neither of these cases appears to be the person in Al-Kharj mentioned my earlier post today. That city is about 80 km south of Riyadh.

Thanks to my friend Tim Walker in Helsinki for retweeting the link to the Press Freedom Index 2013, published on the Reporters Without Borders website.

 It lists Finland as #1 in freedom of the press. Canada comes in at #20, right behind Namibia; the UK is at #29, just ahead of Ghana; the US is at #32, right between Suriname and Lithuania; and Saudi Arabia is at #163, between Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.

  We should probably bear this in mind in assessing both the quality and quantity of Saudi MERS reports.