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South Korea Reports 3rd Death From MERS Virus South Korea Reports 3rd Death From MERS Virus
(about 7 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — An 82-year-old man has died of Middle East respiratory syndrome in South Korea, officials said on Thursday. His was the third confirmed death in what has become the largest outbreak of the viral disease outside the Middle East. SEOUL, South Korea — Two men have died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in South Korea, officials said Thursday. Theirs were the third and fourth confirmed deaths in what has become the largest outbreak of the virus outside the Middle East.
More than 1,160 schools and kindergartens in South Korea have been shut down temporarily, and many Koreans are wearing surgical masks in public out of fear of infection. As fear spread, the government of President Park Geun-hye was accused of not doing enough to contain the outbreak and endangering the public by withholding information about it.
The government said in a statement that the man died on Wednesday, and a posthumous test showed that he was infected with the MERS virus, making his the 36th confirmed case in South Korea. At a news conference on Thursday, the influential mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, castigated the national authorities for not disclosing that a doctor at a Seoul hospital who was quarantined on Sunday with symptoms of the syndrome, known as MERS, had attended a gathering of more than 1,500 people in the southern part of the city only the day before.
As fears of the virus spread, the government of President Park Geun-hye has been accused of endangering the public by withholding information about the outbreak; the most recent criticism came from the influential mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon. More than 1,160 schools and kindergartens in South Korea have been shut down temporarily, and many Koreans are wearing surgical masks in public.
In a news conference on Thursday, Mr. Park assailed the national government for not disclosing that a doctor employed at a Seoul hospital who was quarantined with MERS symptoms on Sunday had attended a gathering of more than 1,500 people in the southern part of the city the day before. The government said in a statement that an 82-year-old man, who was otherwise unidentified, had died on Wednesday, and a posthumous test showed that he was infected with the MERS virus, making his the 36th confirmed case in South Korea. The man was the third fatality from the virus after two patients had died on Monday. In a statement early Friday, the government announced the fourth death: a 76-year-old man who it said died on Thursday.
The health ministry announced earlier on Thursday that the doctor was the country’s 35th confirmed MERS patient and that he had caught the virus from a patient he treated on May 27, but it did not mention the gathering. The government also said that five more people have tested positive, bringing the total number of MERS cases in South Korea to 41.
“It increased the possibility that the virus spread and infected more people,” the mayor said, calling the development a “grave situation.” Mr. Park said city officials had begun phoning all those who had attended the gathering to ask them to quarantine themselves. The Health Ministry had announced earlier on Thursday that the doctor whom the Seoul mayor cited was the country’s 35th confirmed case and that he had caught the virus from a patient he treated on May 27, but the ministry did not mention the gathering, which was for people interested in buying apartments in a housing project.
The government did not immediately respond to the mayor’s criticism. “It increased the possibility that the virus spread and infected more people,” Mr. Park said, calling the development a “grave situation.” He added that city officials had begun telephoning all those who had attended the gathering to ask them to quarantine themselves.
Its ability to contain the virus came under more scrutiny on Thursday with news of the 82-year-old man’s death. He apparently caught the virus in a hospital, where he was being treated for asthma and pneumonia in late May. A new patient placed in his room was later found to be carrying the virus, and thee others who stayed in the room have since tested positive, but an earlier test did not find the virus in him, officials said; he was under quarantine for further observation when he died. The government said it had shared information about the doctor with Seoul officials and planned to reach people who attended the gathering to give them advice on how to detect symptoms. .
Most of the MERS cases reported in South Korea so far are believed to have been infected in hospitals in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul. The cases include staff members, patients and visitors. The government has refused to name the six hospitals in Gyeonggi and nearby cities where the patients were infected. The 82-year-old man had apparently caught the virus in a hospital, where he was being treated for asthma and pneumonia in late May. A new patient placed in his room was later found to be carrying the virus, and three others who stayed in the room have since tested positive, but an earlier test did not find the virus in the 82-year-old man, officials said; he was under quarantine for further observation when he died.
Health officials have raced to track down anyone who may have come into contact with known MERS patients, and have isolated more than 1,660 people in their homes or at state-run facilities to see if they develop symptoms. Most of the cases reported in South Korea are believed to have been in hospitals in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul. The cases include staff members, patients and visitors. The government has refused to name the six hospitals in Gyeonggi and nearby cities where the patients were infected.
Health officials have raced to track down anyone who may have come into contact with patients known to have the virus, and have isolated more than 1,660 people in their homes or at state-run facilities to see if they develop symptoms.
Worries about the virus appear to have spread to North Korea as well. On Thursday, the South Korean government said that the North had asked to borrow heat-detecting cameras to help screen South Korean factory managers as they commute to an industrial park run jointly by the two countries in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. In the complex, 54,000 North Koreans work in 124 factories run by the South.Worries about the virus appear to have spread to North Korea as well. On Thursday, the South Korean government said that the North had asked to borrow heat-detecting cameras to help screen South Korean factory managers as they commute to an industrial park run jointly by the two countries in the North Korean border city of Kaesong. In the complex, 54,000 North Koreans work in 124 factories run by the South.
The industrial park is an important source of earnings for the North, and South Korean officials said there had been no indication that the North planned to close it temporarily because of the viral outbreak. The South Korean government said it would lend three of the cameras to the North, as it did in November when North Korea tightened inspections at ports and airports and closed its borders to foreign tourists to guard against the Ebola virus.
The South Korean government said it would lend three of the cameras to the North, as it did in November when North Korea tightened inspections at ports and airports and closed its borders to foreign tourists to guard against the Ebola virus. North Korea reopened the border to tourists in early March.
Thousands of North Koreans are said to be working at building sites in the Middle East, where the virus first emerged in 2012. In all, more than 470 deaths have been linked to the virus, the vast majority of them in the Middle East.