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2015 MERS outbreak in South Korea

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2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea
Date20 May 2015 — present
Location South Korea
Casualties

An outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus has been ongoing in South Korea since May 2015. The virus, which causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), is a newly emerged betacoronavirus that was first identified in a patient from Saudi Arabia in April 2012.

South Korea reported its first MERS case on 20 May 2015.[3] A 68-year-old man returning from the Middle East was diagnosed with MERS nine days after he initially sought medical help.[4] As of 15 June 2015, there were 150 known cases in/from the country and 16 people have died from this outbreak.[5] 2,208 schools have been temporarily closed, including 20 universities. 3,800 people have been placed in isolation at home or at government designated facilities.[6]

Outbreak

2015 MERS outbreak in South Korea
MERS confirmed cases status
MERS quarantine status

The following table shows the daily statistics on the number of infected persons since 20 May 2015, based on the official report of the Central MERS Management Task Force, Ministry of Health and Welfare at the beginning of each day.[1][7]

Date Cases*1 Deaths
2015-05-20 2 0
2015-05-21 3 0
2015-05-26 5 0
2015-05-27 5 0
2015-05-28 7 0
2015-05-29 13 0
2015-05-30 15 0
2015-05-31 18 0
2015-06-01 25 1
2015-06-02 30 1
2015-06-03 30 3
2015-06-04 36 4
2015-06-05 42 5
2015-06-06 64 5
2015-06-07 87 5
2015-06-08 95 7
2015-06-09 108 7
2015-06-10 122 9
2015-06-11 126 10
2015-06-12 138 13
2015-06-13 145 14
2015-06-14 150 16
2015-06-15 154 19
2015-06-16 162 19

^*1 Includes a case reported in China[8]

Hospitals

2015 MERS outbreak in South Korea is located in South Korea
Seoul
Seoul
Pyeongtaek
Pyeongtaek
Daejeon
Daejeon
Asan
Asan
Hwaseong
Hwaseong
Busan
Busan
Daegu
Daegu
Hospital where confirmed MERS cases were exposed

Location where confirmed MERS cases were found

On 7 June 2015, the South Korean government released the names of 24 MERS-affected hospitals to the public.[9] These hospitals include the Pyeongtaek St. Mary's (SeongMo) Hospital (평택성모병원) and the Seoul Samsung Hospital (삼성서울병원), an affiliate of Samsung Medical Center.[10][11][12]

Hospitals where confirmed MERS cases were exposed, as of 14 June 2015, 11:00[13]
Hospital Korean name City/Province No. of cases
Samsung Medical Centre 삼성서울병원 Kangnam-gu/ Seoul 71
Pyeongtaek St. Mary’s Hospital 평택성모병원 Pyeongtaek/ Gyeonggi Province 37
Dae Cheong Hospital 대청병원 Seo-gu/ Daejeon 12
KonYang University Hospital 건양대학교병원 Seo-gu/ Daejeon 10
Hallym University Medical Centre 한림대학교동탄성심병원 Hwaseong/ Gyeonggi Province 5
Pyeongtaek Good Morning Hospital 평택굿모닝병원 Pyeongtaek/ Gyeonggi Province 3
Asan Seoul Clinic 아산서울의원 Asan / Chungnam Province 1
365 Yeol Lin Clinic 365 열린의원 Kangdong-gu/ Seoul 1
Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital 가톨릭대학교 여의도성모병원 Yeongdeungpo-gu/ Seoul 1
Asan Medical Center 서울아산병원 Songpa-gu/ Seoul 1
Others (outside hospitals, under investigation) 3
Total 145

On 26 May 2015, a 44-year-old South Korean man, his father and elder sister being confirmed to be infected by MERS, paid no notice to a doctor's advice or a self quarantine order from the government, and arrived in Huizhou through Hong Kong for a business trip. When he was found to have a fever, the man was suspected to be dishonest to border quarantine officers in Hong Kong by concealing that he had went to hospital on 16 May for nearly 4 hours to visit his father.[14] He has tested positive for the Syndrome.[15]

On 30 May 2015, a website said that a driver in Huizhou who transported a South Korean male MERS patient was suspected to be infected but later the government clarified that this was a rumor.[16]

A Chinese escapee who stayed in South Korea for 3 years turned himself in as he was afraid of the outbreak. He arrived at Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport on 4 June.[17]

On 8 June 2015, a South Korean couple who did not follow the self-quarantine notice were found to have visited the Philippines on 6 June. They had visited the respective clinics in Sunchang County where a 72-year-old woman was confirmed positive for MERS after having visited the clinic for lumbago treatment. The couple said that they only knew that the 72-old women was a MERS positive patient only after reading the news.[18]

On 9 June 2015, two Hong Kong students from City University of Hong Kong doing a 3-month exchange program in Sungkyunkwan University were ordered by a professor to get out of the classroom as they refused to remove their protective masks. The professor also said that they were too sensitive to the outbreak because of the history of SARS in Hong Kong in 2003. Sungkyunkwan University replied that some professors saw wearing masks as impolite and said if students insist on wearing masks, they might be refused to give presentations in class and may be unable to graduate due to this. Affected students said this reflected that the South Korean public was not attentive to the threat of the MERS outbreak.[19]

On 14 June, a man was tested for the virus in Bratislava in Slovakia. He is currently being treated in hospital.

Responses

People criticized the government for underestimating the danger of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and hesitating about announcing facts to public. It was only on 6 June 2015 that South Korean officials released the names of all the health facilities where MERS victims had been treated or visited.[20]

On 11 June 2015, South Korea's central bank cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to stem the economic fallout from the outbreak.[21]

Temporary school closure

The following table shows the number of schools which have been temporarily closed due to the outbreak:

Date Number of school closed
2015-06-02 84[22]
2015-06-03 214[23]
2015-06-04 1,162[24]
2015-06-05 1,317[25]
2015-06-07 1,381 (7 schools were closed in Gyeonggi Province area)[26]
2015-06-08 1,970[27]
2015-06-09 2,208[28]
2015-06-15 475[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "알림> 보도자료 목록 - '메르스' 검색결과" (in Korean). Ministry of Health and Welfare. Retrieved 9 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "South Korea begins plasma treatment trial for Mers". BBC News. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  3. ^ "S. Korea reports 23 new cases of MERS, bringing total to 87". Yonhap News Agency. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  4. ^ "South Korea MERS Outbreak Began With a Cough". The Wall Street Journal. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  5. ^ "S. Korea reports two more MERS deaths, 5 new cases".
  6. ^ Park, Ju-min; Pomfret, James (8 June 2015). "REFILE-UPDATE 2-Hong Kong to issue "red travel alert" to South Korea as MERS spreads". Reuters. (Article published in Eastern Daylight Time)
  7. ^ "메르스 확진자 총 150명, 현재 120명 치료 중". Ministry of Health and Welfare. June 15, 2015.
  8. ^ "Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)". World Health Organization.
  9. ^ "S. Korea identifies 24 MERS-affected hospitals". Yonhap News Agency. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  10. ^ "정부, 메르스 환자 발생·경유 병원 24곳 공개". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 7 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  11. ^ "메르스 병원 '24곳' 명단 공개… 경유병원만 '18곳'". www.moneyweek.co.kr (in Korean). 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  12. ^ "MERS-Affected Hospitals". www.google.com. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  13. ^ "Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)". World Health Organization.
  14. ^ Template:Zh-hk icon"疑中招韓男隱瞞病歷經港往惠州新沙士殺到". 蘋果日報. 2015-05-29. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  15. ^ "China's first confirmed MERS case arrived from Korea via Hong Kong". 2015-05-29. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  16. ^ Template:Zh-hans icon"广东惠州接MERS患者司机疑被传染 官方辟谣". China Central Television. 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  17. ^ Template:Zh-hans icon"一外逃韩国经济犯担心染上MERS 权衡利弊回国自首". 北青网. 2015-06-05. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  18. ^ "S. Korean couple under MERS suspicion visit PH". Manila Bulletin. 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  19. ^ Template:Zh-hk icon"本月餘下南韓團或取消 交流生批韓缺防疫意識". TVB. 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  20. ^ "MERS Prompts Hong Kong to Declare 'Red Alert' on South Korea Travel". REUTERS. 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
  21. ^ S Korea cuts interest rates to record low amid Mers concerns
  22. ^ "'메르스 불안' 전국 학교 휴업 100곳 육박". KBS. 2015-06-02. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
  23. ^ 신상윤 (2015-06-03). "[메르스 쇼크]전국 214개교 휴교 또는 휴업…"학생 감염 막기위해 적극적 방역"". 헤럴드경제. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  24. ^ 최희진, 박성진, 김보미 (2015-06-05). "메르스 방역, 서울이 뚫렸다… 감염 확진 서울 의사, 시민 1500여명과 접촉". Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 2015-06-05.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ 박정양 (2015-06-05). "전국 1317개교 '메르스 휴업'…서울 99개교". 뉴스원. Retrieved 2015-06-05.
  26. ^ 김병덕 (2015-06-07). "서울·경기 1381개 유치원·학교 강제 휴업명령". 파이넨셜뉴스. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  27. ^ 노재현 (2015-06-08). "메르스 휴업 유치원·학교 1천970곳…전국 10곳 중 1곳". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  28. ^ 박정양 (2015-06-09). "전국 2208개 학교 '메르스 휴업'…오후 확산세 '주춤'". 뉴스원. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  29. ^ 노재현 (2015-06-15). "교육부 "메르스 휴업 유치원·학교 475곳"". 연합뉴스. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
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