Hong Kong suspects two MERS cases

World Today

A health care worker wearing full-body protective gear as a precaution against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome virus talks on an intercom inside an isolation ward at Seoul Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea Wednesday, June 10, 2015. South Korea believes its MERS virus outbreak may have peaked, and experts say the next several days will be critical to determining whether the government’s belated efforts have successfully stymied a disease that has killed seven people and infected nearly 100 in the country. (Yun Dong-jin/Yonhap via AP)

Two additional suspected MERS cases have emerged in Hong Kong, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. In the new suspected cases, as well as a previously known suspected MERS case, the patients had been in South Korea but did not visit any health care facilities there, the Post reported.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that two more people had died from MERS, and also announced 13 new cases, raising the total number of patients to 108, Reuters reported. The news prompted South Korean President Park Geun-hye to postpone his visit to the United States.

The new confirmed cases bring the total number of MERS cases globally to 1,257 according to WHO data, with at least 448 related deaths, Reuters also reported.

A Chinese woman living in South Korea also tested positive for MERS, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, Xinhua reported.

Report compiled with information from Xinhua, Reuters, and The South China Morning Post.


Chinese to respond to MERS accordingly

Many countries and regions have issued travel alerts to South Korea, but the Chinese mainland has yet to follow suit.  On Wednesday, Chinese health authorities say they were keeping a close eye on the MERS situation in South Korea, and will respond accordingly. CCTV America’s Han Peng filed the report from Beijing.