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A nurse moves a man (C),
suspected of carrying MERS virus, at the Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, on
June 8, 2015 ©Jung Yeon-Je (AFP)
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South Korea recorded its sixth death and biggest single day
jump in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) infections on Monday, with 23
new cases in the largest outbreak of the potentially deadly virus outside Saudi
Arabia.
From just four cases two
weeks ago, the total number of infections now stands at 87, including six
people who have died.
The latest fatality was
an 80-year-old man who died Monday morning in a hospital in Daejeon, 140
kilometres (87 miles) south of Seoul, the health ministry said.
The outbreak has
triggered widespread public concern in South Korea, with 2,500 people placed
under quarantine orders and nearly 1,900 schools -- mostly in Seoul and
surrounding Gyeonggi province -- closed down.
AFP report continues:
Among the 23 new cases,
17 were infected at the Samsung Medical Centre in southern Seoul -- one of the
country's largest hospitals, and the one where the ailing 73-year-old chairman
of Samsung Electronics has been in intensive care for more than a year.
The hospital said it had
placed nearly 900 patients and medical staff under observation and expected to
see more cases in the coming days.
- First teenage case -
Another new case was of a
16-year-old student hospitalized on May 27 for another disease, in the first
case involving a teenager.
Given the period of time
he had been in hospital, the education ministry stressed it was "not
possible" that he had infected any classmates at school.
All the infections so far
have been restricted to hospitals, with transmissions between patients, staff
and their families.
One 50-year-old doctor
was released from hospital after becoming only the second person to be passed
fit after contracting the virus, for which there is no vaccine.
Criticized for its
initial response to the outbreak, the government on Sunday vowed
"all-out" efforts to curb the further spread of the virus, including
tracking the mobile phones of those under house quarantine to ensure they stay
home.
Several have already been
caught sneaking out, despite facing possible fine of three million won (US$2,670).
Chung Eun-Kyung, a senior
official at the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said those
confined to their homes should stay alone in a room and wear a surgical mask
when interacting with family members.
Hundreds of public
events, school trips and sporting fixtures have been cancelled, with movie
theatres, theme parks and shopping malls reporting big drops in the number of
customers.
- Emptying supermarkets -
Both E-Mart and Lotte
Mart, two of the country's biggest supermarket chains, reported a 12 percent
drop in weekly store sales from June 1 to June 6.
But sales on their
websites surged by about 50 percent as more consumers chose to stay at home and
shop online.
Those who did venture to
the stores were greeted by staff who wiped down the handles of the supermarket
trolleys before and after use.
Schools that remained
open screened students arriving for class Monday morning, checking their
temperature with an ear thermometer at the gate and sending home anyone with
even a mild fever.
Lee Hyun-Shil, who was
taking her son to a kindergarten in Seoul, said she was in "utter
shock" over the scale of the outbreak.
"I can't believe
this is happening in South Korea," Lee told AFP.
"I am really worried
these days... and wonder if it's OK to use a subway to go somewhere," she
said.
More than 20 countries
have been affected by MERS, with most cases in Saudi Arabia.
The virus is considered a
deadlier but less infectious cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS), which killed hundreds of people when it appeared in Asia in 2003.
A team of officials from
the World Health Organization arrived in Seoul on Monday to help investigate
the outbreak and offer advice on its containment.
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