Cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS have leveled off in South Korea. The government has reported three new cases in recent days, but no new fatalities. HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.
Nearly 200 cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS have been reported in South Korea since May. 33 people have died. But the pace of cases has slowed dramatically. The Health Ministry reports three new patients in recent days…two of them health workers. The government reports no recent fatalities.
Earlier this week, the hospital that saw the first confirmed case of MERS reopened after being closed for nearly six weeks. Other facilities have also re-opened, and the number of people in quarantine continues to decline.
The World Health Organization’s latest update says all the cases have been “linked to a single chain of transmission and are associated with health care facilities.” The WHO says there’s a “lack of evidence of sustained human to human transmission in the community”, and so it has never recommended any travel restrictions to South Korea.
Still, the country has seen its visitor numbers drop, especially from China. It saw a relatively short-term but sharp drop in overall economic activity, especially in the capital city of Seoul. On Tuesday, South Korea’s finance minister said economic growth this year would have been better than last year if not for the outbreak of MERS.
