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| South Korean Official Says MERS Outbreak Seems to Be Easing | South Korean Official Says MERS Outbreak Seems to Be Easing |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, the largest outside Saudi Arabia, appears to be easing, a senior government health official said on Friday. | SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome, the largest outside Saudi Arabia, appears to be easing, a senior government health official said on Friday. |
| The official, Kwon Deok-cheol, gave that cautious assessment after reporting just one new case of the syndrome, known as MERS, as well as the country’s 24th death from the disease. | The official, Kwon Deok-cheol, gave that cautious assessment after reporting just one new case of the syndrome, known as MERS, as well as the country’s 24th death from the disease. |
| Since its first case was reported on May 20, South Korea has had 166 confirmed cases of MERS, which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The number of new cases reported daily reached a peak of 23 on June 7 and has generally declined since then. | Since its first case was reported on May 20, South Korea has had 166 confirmed cases of MERS, which emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The number of new cases reported daily reached a peak of 23 on June 7 and has generally declined since then. |
| In recent days, South Korean officials have expressed increasing confidence that the outbreak is coming under control. But they have also cautioned that new cases will continue to emerge in the coming weeks, saying that enforcement of quarantine and disease-control measures need to continue. | |
| “As things stand now, we believe that the outbreak is easing,” said Mr. Kwon, a chief coordinator of policy for the government’s response to the outbreak. “But we need to watch those hospitals under our scrutiny to see if there will be further transmissions.” | “As things stand now, we believe that the outbreak is easing,” said Mr. Kwon, a chief coordinator of policy for the government’s response to the outbreak. “But we need to watch those hospitals under our scrutiny to see if there will be further transmissions.” |
| MERS cases have been traced to 14 South Korean hospitals, but infected patients went to many others before their cases were formally diagnosed, raising the possibility that transmissions may have occurred in some of those hospitals, too. | MERS cases have been traced to 14 South Korean hospitals, but infected patients went to many others before their cases were formally diagnosed, raising the possibility that transmissions may have occurred in some of those hospitals, too. |
| The government, which the World Health Organization criticized for its initial handling of the outbreak, has been trying to identify and quarantine everyone who was in those hospitals at the same time as the confirmed MERS patients, calling or sending text messages to tens of thousands of people. | The government, which the World Health Organization criticized for its initial handling of the outbreak, has been trying to identify and quarantine everyone who was in those hospitals at the same time as the confirmed MERS patients, calling or sending text messages to tens of thousands of people. |
| The government has promised financial support for those who go into quarantine, and it has even sent public servants to run errands for people who stay home while being monitored for symptoms. It has also threatened to prosecute people who break quarantine. The decrease in new cases indicates that those efforts are working, officials said. | The government has promised financial support for those who go into quarantine, and it has even sent public servants to run errands for people who stay home while being monitored for symptoms. It has also threatened to prosecute people who break quarantine. The decrease in new cases indicates that those efforts are working, officials said. |
| There are other signs that the country is returning to normal, though fear of the virus remains widespread. Most of the nearly 3,000 schools and kindergartens that were shut down amid the outbreak have reopened. Just 126 were still closed as of Friday. | There are other signs that the country is returning to normal, though fear of the virus remains widespread. Most of the nearly 3,000 schools and kindergartens that were shut down amid the outbreak have reopened. Just 126 were still closed as of Friday. |
| Also on Friday, a quarantine was lifted for a village 150 miles south of Seoul, Jangdeok, which had been cordoned off for weeks after one of its residents was found to have been infected. No other villager developed symptoms during the virus’s two-week maximum incubation period, officials said. | Also on Friday, a quarantine was lifted for a village 150 miles south of Seoul, Jangdeok, which had been cordoned off for weeks after one of its residents was found to have been infected. No other villager developed symptoms during the virus’s two-week maximum incubation period, officials said. |