--- ---  # Saudi Arabia Revises MERS Death Toll Up 48%  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 3, 2014 4:58 PM UTC  A Saudi man walks towards the King Fahad hospital in the city of Hofuf, 370 kms East of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 16, 2013. A Saudi man walks towards the King Fahad hospital in the city of Hofuf, 370 kms East of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 16, 2013.FAYEZ NURELDINE—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Jun 3, 2014 4:58 PM UTC Saudi Arabia confirmed Tuesday an additional 113 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), dramatically raising the kingdom’s caseload to a total of 688. Reuters [reports](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/03/uk-health-mers-saudi-idUKKBN0EE1HK20140603) that Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry released the revised figures after officials conducted a deeper review of the nation’s medical records. In addition to the heavier caseload, officials raised the virus’ death toll by 48% from 190 to 282 known deaths. “While the review has resulted in a higher total number of previously unreported cases,” read a statement from Tariq Madani, head of the ministry’s scientific advisory board, “we still see a decline in the number of new cases reported over the past few weeks.” Saudi Arabia dismissed its Deputy Health Minister Doctor Ziad Memish on Tuesday, without elaborating on the reasons for his dismissal, Reuters [reports](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/03/uk-health-mers-saudi-idUKKBN0EE1HK20140603). The sacking comes only six weeks after Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabeeah was fired amid rising MERS infection rates. \[[_Reuters_](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/03/uk-health-mers-saudi-idUKKBN0EE1HK20140603)\] MERS Outbreak: Saudi Arabia Confirms Another 113 Cases ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2818389/mers-saudi-arabia-death-toll/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2818389/mers-saudi-arabia-death-toll/"},"headline":"Saudi Arabia Revises MERS Death Toll Up 48%","datePublished":"2014-06-03T16:58:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:11:29.922Z","description":"Saudi Arabia, at the center of the virus' outbreak, revised its infection and death tolls upwards after conducting a deeper review.","url":"https://time.com/2818389/mers-saudi-arabia-death-toll/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Death","Saudi Arabia","MERS","infection"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e3a8ed3e24248eb/698695fb3bc99978ad1a3e69/170741418.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9e3a8ed3e24248eb/698695fb3bc99978ad1a3e69/170741418.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SAUDI-HEALTH-MERS-VIRUS","caption":"SAUDI-HEALTH-MERS-VIRUS","creditText":"FAYEZ NURELDINE—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2818389/mers-saudi-arabia-death-toll/","name":"Saudi Arabia Revises MERS Death Toll Up 48%"}}]}] ```