Saudi Arabia’s death toll from the MERS corona virus has surged to 282, the health ministry said Tuesday, following recalculations in the world’s worst hit country.

Saudi Arabia's death toll from the MERS corona virus has surged to 282, the health ministry said Tuesday, following recalculations in the world's worst hit country.

"A comprehensive revision" going back to 2012 has resulted in revising up the death toll, which had stood at 190 people, while the number of infected cases rose from 575 to 688 people, the ministry said in a statement.