Bangkok – Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health today announced that a 75-year-old Omani man who became the country’s first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has been declared free of the virus.

In the latest test result, the Ministry said they did not find the MERS virus in the patient, adding that man’s condition has gradually improved. He is now being treated for his heart conditions, the original reason for him to travel to Thailand.

The man’s three relatives who travelled with him to Thailand were also free of the virus, but will remain in the 14-day quarantine.

The Ministry is still monitoring 20 people who were exposed to Thailand’s first and only MERS patient, including 14 passengers on the same flight, two taxi drivers, and four medical personnel. All are in good health with lab test showing no MERS virus.