8 patients tested negative for MERS, gov't keeps close watch to tackle disease
- 6 years ago
Eight people who came into close contact with a man confirmed to have MERS last weekend have tested negative for the virus.
As a result, they were allowed to leave the hospital on Tuesday.
However,... with others on the watchlist,... health authorities are still monitoring the situation round-the-clock.
Yoon Jung-min reports.
Eight out of the ten people who had come in close contact with a man recently diagnosed with MERS... have been confirmed free of the virus after two rounds of tests.
The country's quarantine agency said Tuesday it has released the eight patients, who included a British woman who flew on the same airplane as the 61-year-old man who does have the virus.
The health authorities will now classify the eight people as having had non-direct or so-called "ordinary" contact with the original patient, which will allow them to still be monitored.
The government is keeping a close eye on 21 other people who came into close contact with him, including passengers, flight attendants and medical workers.
Those people have been placed under quarantine at home.
The authorities say, however, that the whereabouts of 50 foreigners who flew with the patient remain unknown.
On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in said in a Cabinet meeting that it is important to keep people updated on the issue, and urged a prompt and thorough response to the highly infectious disease.
"It is important for the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to focus on taking countermeasures and on demonstrating leadership. The government needs to actively support them and transparently keep the public informed."
The foreign ministry also said in a briefing that it is closely working its response with the government of Kuwait, where the man contracted the virus.
He was diagnosed and hospitalized on Saturday after he returned home from a business trip there... and showed symptoms.
Korea was hit hard by an outbreak in 2015, which infected more than 180 people and left dozens dead.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
As a result, they were allowed to leave the hospital on Tuesday.
However,... with others on the watchlist,... health authorities are still monitoring the situation round-the-clock.
Yoon Jung-min reports.
Eight out of the ten people who had come in close contact with a man recently diagnosed with MERS... have been confirmed free of the virus after two rounds of tests.
The country's quarantine agency said Tuesday it has released the eight patients, who included a British woman who flew on the same airplane as the 61-year-old man who does have the virus.
The health authorities will now classify the eight people as having had non-direct or so-called "ordinary" contact with the original patient, which will allow them to still be monitored.
The government is keeping a close eye on 21 other people who came into close contact with him, including passengers, flight attendants and medical workers.
Those people have been placed under quarantine at home.
The authorities say, however, that the whereabouts of 50 foreigners who flew with the patient remain unknown.
On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in said in a Cabinet meeting that it is important to keep people updated on the issue, and urged a prompt and thorough response to the highly infectious disease.
"It is important for the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to focus on taking countermeasures and on demonstrating leadership. The government needs to actively support them and transparently keep the public informed."
The foreign ministry also said in a briefing that it is closely working its response with the government of Kuwait, where the man contracted the virus.
He was diagnosed and hospitalized on Saturday after he returned home from a business trip there... and showed symptoms.
Korea was hit hard by an outbreak in 2015, which infected more than 180 people and left dozens dead.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.