REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - A new type of virus that killed a man in Saudi Arabia was not similar with virus of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that shocked the world in 2002-2003, said Director General of Disease Control and Environmental Health (P2PL) at the Ministry of Health, Tjandra Yoga Aditama. The coronavirus is only affecting two people and no new case emerges.

"WHO is still investigating the case. It is different from coronavirus that causes SARS several years ago," Aditama said.

Britain's Health Protection Agency, firstly reported the case, gives it a temporary name, London1_novel CoV 2012. Aditama said that European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) also confirmed that the virus was different from SARS.

Indonesian Ministry of Health is coordinating with hajj health team in Saudi Arabia to monitor the case. So far, there has not been any alarming information from Mecca. Aditama also said that the coronavirus only affected two people, correcting the information in Arabnews.

Quoted from Arabnews, Saudi Ministry of Health announced Sunday that a new form of the coronavirus was diagnosed in three people causing the death of two of them; the third is still undergoing treatment.

Aditama explained that the first case was found in a 60-year-old Saudi Arabian man who died because of pneumonia. The second was 49-year-old Qatar citizen who had been to Saudi Arabia. Both suffered from identical virus. The second patient is still under treatment in London.

He explained that coronavirus caused respiratory infection and severe cases could lead to death. Arabian Ministry of Health says the case is rarely happened. However, hajj pilgrims are suggested to take sufficient prevention, such as maintaining sanitary and wearing mask.

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