Seoul: On Tuesday, South Korea reported that the seventh person has died from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). Another eight persons have contracted the virus. Now the total number of cases reached 95. More than 2,500 people remain quarantined, at home or in health centres. Nearly 2,000 schools were closed.
Government said that by the end of the week, it hoped to halt the outbreak of the MERS. The first case was detected on May 20.
Acting Prime Minister Choi Kyung-Hwan said that public concerns are rising over the negative impact of the MERS outbreak and so they have decided to launch an active and an all-out response with the goal of ending the MERS crisis within this week.
The minister added that all the seven people who died from the virus had pre-existing health problems.
MERS is considered a deadlier one but less infectious of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds of people when it appeared in Asia in 2003.
