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| MERS Cases Rise in South Korea, Health Officials Say | MERS Cases Rise in South Korea, Health Officials Say |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — The number of South Koreans infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome increased to 87 on Monday after the government identified additional cases. It also said Monday that an 80-year-old man had died, bringing the number of deaths linked to the virus in South Korea to six. | |
| Officials revealed the names and locations of all 24 hospitals that had had confirmed cases after critics accused the government of helping stoke fear and risking a spread of the virus by withholding the information. | |
| So far, confirmed cases have infected others only in six of the 24 hospitals they passed through. | So far, confirmed cases have infected others only in six of the 24 hospitals they passed through. |
| “As the numbers of patients and people under quarantine continued to increase, the government decided to take strong steps to help ease the people’s concern and fears,” Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said during a news conference on Sunday where the names of the hospitals were revealed. Officials said that they had already quarantined people who may have come in contact with an infected patient in the hospitals. | |
| Until now, the government had repeatedly declined to reveal the names of all the hospitals, insisting that doing so would incite a panic in the neighborhoods nearby. But many of the names have been circulating through social media for several days. | |
| The South Korean outbreak, the largest reported outside the Middle East, began in St. Mary’s Hospital in Pyeongtaek, a city 37 miles south of Seoul, the capital. The first or so-called index patient, a man who had traveled to the Middle East, was hospitalized at St. Mary’s in May. Since then, 35 other cases have been confirmed at the hospital. | The South Korean outbreak, the largest reported outside the Middle East, began in St. Mary’s Hospital in Pyeongtaek, a city 37 miles south of Seoul, the capital. The first or so-called index patient, a man who had traveled to the Middle East, was hospitalized at St. Mary’s in May. Since then, 35 other cases have been confirmed at the hospital. |
| The government first identified the Pyeongtaek hospital on Friday, saying that it was trying to find and monitor everyone who had been there during a two-week period in May. | The government first identified the Pyeongtaek hospital on Friday, saying that it was trying to find and monitor everyone who had been there during a two-week period in May. |
| Officials feared “a second wave” of infections after one of the patients from St. Mary’s checked into the emergency room of the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, one of the largest hospitals in South Korea, on May 27. | Officials feared “a second wave” of infections after one of the patients from St. Mary’s checked into the emergency room of the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, one of the largest hospitals in South Korea, on May 27. |
| So far, 17 cases have been confirmed among people who spent time in the Samsung emergency room, including 10 of the 14 new cases the Health Ministry reported on Sunday. | So far, 17 cases have been confirmed among people who spent time in the Samsung emergency room, including 10 of the 14 new cases the Health Ministry reported on Sunday. |
| One of the 10 was a 74-year-old man who died on Friday. He was posthumously declared as having Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, bringing the death toll from the disease in South Korea to five. | One of the 10 was a 74-year-old man who died on Friday. He was posthumously declared as having Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, bringing the death toll from the disease in South Korea to five. |
| As health experts test people who were recently in the Samsung hospital’s emergency room, “they expect more MERS cases to be found” over the next several days, the Health Ministry said in a statement. | As health experts test people who were recently in the Samsung hospital’s emergency room, “they expect more MERS cases to be found” over the next several days, the Health Ministry said in a statement. |
| More than 1,800 people believed to have been in contact with a confirmed patient were being monitored in state-run facilities or were under quarantine at home. On Sunday, Mr. Choi said that the government planned to assign a public servant to each of those people to ensure a proper quarantine. It will also monitor their cellphone signals so that the health authorities will be alerted if any of them breaks out of quarantine, he said. | More than 1,800 people believed to have been in contact with a confirmed patient were being monitored in state-run facilities or were under quarantine at home. On Sunday, Mr. Choi said that the government planned to assign a public servant to each of those people to ensure a proper quarantine. It will also monitor their cellphone signals so that the health authorities will be alerted if any of them breaks out of quarantine, he said. |
| Fear of infection has compelled more than 1,160 kindergartens and schools in South Korea to temporarily close. | Fear of infection has compelled more than 1,160 kindergartens and schools in South Korea to temporarily close. |
| MERS was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The vast majority of the more than 440 deaths attributed to the disease have occurred in the Middle East. | MERS was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The vast majority of the more than 440 deaths attributed to the disease have occurred in the Middle East. |