South Korea MERS death toll hits nine

SEOUL: South Korean President Park Geun-hye has postponed a planned trip to the United States, her spokesman said Wednesday, amid growing public alarm at the MERS outbreak which has now claimed nine lives.

The decision to delay the June 14-18 visit came after Park’s administration came under fire for what critics say has been an inadequate response to the crisis.
“President Park decided to postpone the US trip in order to help end the outbreak of MERS and take care of public safety,” her senior press secretary Kim Sung-Woo told reporters.
“We asked for understanding from the US government and both nations agreed to reschedule the trip at the earliest convenience.”
Two new deaths and 13 new cases were confirmed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths to nine and the number of infections to 108 in the worst outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outside Saudi Arabia.
The first infected patient was diagnosed on May 20 after a trip to Saudi Arabia.
The 68-year-old man spread the virus, visiting four medical facilities and infecting other patients and health care workers.
Since then, nearly 3,500 people who were exposed to infected people have been placed under quarantine of varying strictness.
The outbreak has also triggered alarm elsewhere in Asia.
A woman was rushed to a Hong Kong hospital Wednesday on suspicion she had contracted MERS, after returning from a trip to South Korea.
Hong Kong had previously quarantined 19 people as a precaution against MERS and had also isolated suspected cases which turned out to be false alarms.
Park’s approval ratings have taken a dive as critics accused her administration and health officials of responding too slowly to the crisis.
A survey by polling agency Realmeter showed on Wednesday that more than half of South Koreans opposed her planned trip to the US, a major ally.
The two latest fatalities were a 75-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man.They contracted the virus at Samsung Medical Center, a major hospital in Seoul.
It has seen 47 infections, the highest number at any single health facility, as well as 10 of the 13 new patients reported Wednesday.