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S. Korea reports two more MERS deaths, 13 new cases

June 9, 2015

Hospital workers and visitors wearing masks pass by a precaution against the MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, virus at a quarantine tent for people who could be infected with the MERS virus at Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, June 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

(Yonhap) — South Korea on Wednesday confirmed two more deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and reported 13 new cases, bringing the number of infections to 108.

The latest fatalities marked the eighth and ninth MERS-related deaths in the country since the outbreak was first confirmed on May 20.

The 13 new cases were confirmed among people who have been in isolation.

According to the Health and Welfare Ministry, 10 out of the 13 new MERS patients were infected while visiting Seoul’s Samsung Medical Center, one of the largest and most renowned hospitals in the capital whose fame had apparently attracted a MERS patient seeking treatment.

As of Tuesday morning, 2,892 people were in isolation for possible infection after coming in close contact with a MERS patient.

The health ministry has said all transmissions so far have occurred at hospitals, most of which had unknowingly treated MERS patients, also unaware of their infection.

The government has released the names of all hospitals affected by MERS, which stood at 29 on Monday.

MERS is a viral respiratory illness that was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The disease had a very high fatality rate of over 40 percent before the outbreak in South Korea, according to the health ministry.

The latest MERS-related deaths here put the fatality rate of the disease in South Korea at around 8 percent.

A joint team of officials from the Seoul government and the World Health Organization (WHO) was currently working to find out any factors driving the outbreak here as Seoul struggles to identify reasons for what it has called an unusually fast and wide spreading of the disease.

Until the outbreak in South Korea, only some 1,100 cases of infections had been reported globally with over 90 percent of the total confirmed in Saudi Arabia.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan has noted the South Korean culture of family members caring for their loved homes at home and in hospitals may have been one of such factors driving the spread of the disease.

The joint investigation of WHO officials and South Korean experts is expected to announce the outcome of their study Saturday.

In addition to its efforts to quickly eliminate the disease, the government was also struggling to prevent the disease from putting a dent in the local economy.

In a meeting with economy-related ministers, Acting Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said the government plans to provide more than 400 billion won (US$356 million) in emergency relief funds to areas and businesses affected by the disease.

Choi, who is also the finance minister, said the government will also provide emergency funds to MERS patients and those in isolation for possible infection while also paying for their cost of diagnosis and treatment.

“The government will mobilize all its power and resources as if it were trying to eliminate the disease this very week,” he told the meeting, according to the finance ministry.

Koreatimes MERS

One Comment

Garry Nathanie

June 10, 2015 at 5:06 AM

It would be good if there will be reports on how many people who were previously quarantined but were already released.

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