South Korea says 11th patient has died of Mers infection as two hospitals sealed off
But easing in number of new infections may signal that the 'worst is over'
PUBLISHED : Friday, 12 June, 2015, 2:27pm
UPDATED : Friday, 12 June, 2015, 2:35pm
Reuters and AFP in Seoul
Doctors pray during a special service for patients suffering from Mers at a hospital in Seoul. Photo: AP
South Korea today reported its 11th death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) as it sealed off two hospitals that treated infected patients – but tempered concerns by saying the rate of new cases was slowing.
A 72-year-old woman died today after being infected by a Mers patient at a hospital, the health ministry said, as South Korea grappled with what has become the largest outbreak of the virus outside Saudi Arabia.
The number of new cases, however, fell to four – down from 14 the previous day, raising hope that the worst may be over. In all, 126 people in South Korea have been diagnosed with the virus.
The slowdown signalled “there are little risks of the virus spreading through airborne transmissions or to communities outside hospital settings”, the health ministry said in a statement. “Therefore, we ask the people to conquer their fear and engage in day-to-day business.”
More than 54,000 foreign travellers have cancelled planned trips to South Korea so far this month, according to the Korea Tourism Board. Businesses including shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas have reported a sharp drop in sales as people shun public venues with large crowds.
Currently, 3,680 people in South Korea are still under quarantine, though 1,249 people have been released from isolation, including 294 patients today.
South Korean workers fumigate a cinema in Seoul as a precaution against the spread of Mers. Photo: AFP
As a precaution, two hospitals – one in Seoul and the other in hard-hit Pyeongtaek city – were sealed off with at least 133 patients and staff inside.
They would be sealed off for at least the next 11 days, given the two-week incubation period of the virus, officials said.
“No patients can get out of their rooms,” said a city government official in the capital, Seoul, who declined to be identified. “Nurses in protective gear are giving them food. No one can get in from outside.”
The Mediheal Hospital – the first in Seoul to be shut – will be closed until June 23, an official said.
Pyeongtaek Saint Mary’s hospital in Pyeongtaek, where the first wave of 37 patients were diagnosed, will also remain closed until Friday.
But Samsung Medical Centre, where 58 out of the 126 confirmed infected people contracted the disease, the biggest single group, remains open after being sanitised.
A total of 52 health care facilities including 18 in Seoul and 16 in the surrounding Gyeonggi province have been exposed to the virus.
Mers is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that caused Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) which killed about 800 people worldwide in 2002-03. It is deadlier than Sars but does not spread as easily, at least for now. There is no cure or vaccine.
The first South Korean diagnosed with Mers, a businessman who had returned from a trip to the Middle East on May 20, came to light just over three weeks ago.
The 68-year-old man who brought the virus back from the Middle East visited several health centres for treatment of a nagging cough and fever before he was diagnosed, leaving a trail of infection in his wake.
All but one of South Korea’s cases have been confirmed as originating with the businessman who travelled to the Middle East and happening in health care centres. The last one is likely to be confirmed as such too, the health ministry said.
The incubation period for many people exposed to infected patients is ending, which should mean a decline in new cases, said infectious disease expert Jacob Lee.
“There may be a third wave from hospitals that Mers patients had stayed at but it won’t spread as much as it has,” Lee said.
Only one case has been reported outside South Korea in this outbreak, that of a South Korean man who travelled to China via Hong Kong after defying a suggestion from health authorities that he stay in voluntary quarantine at home.
