Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have quarantined 88 people, including 14 South Koreans, who had contact with a South Korean MERS patient in China, authorities said Wednesday.
Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have also stepped up precautionary measures against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome since the 44-year-old Korean man, the son of the third person reported to have the virus in South Korea, tested positive for the virus on Friday.
He flew to Hong Kong on May 26 and subsequently went to the southern Chinese province of Guangdong by bus. The health of the Korean man, who has been treated under quarantine at the Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital in Guangdong, has been relatively in stable condition.
South Korea, which reported its first MERS case on May 20, is struggling to contain an outbreak, as health authorities have confirmed two deaths from the virus.
Earlier in the day, South Korea confirmed five more MERS cases, bringing the total to 30.
In China, state media reported that airport authorities have been strengthening the monitoring of the temperatures of passengers who are returning from South Korea and the Middle East.
The Beijing Capital International Airport and other airports have required travelers returning from those countries to report to authorities if they have symptoms of a fever or cough.
Hong Kong and Taiwan authorities have also stepped up surveillance against the virus.
“We will maintain close communication with the World Health Organization and the health authority of Korea. Members of the public and the healthcare sector should heighten vigilance and stay alert to the latest situation,” a spokesman for Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection said in a statement. (Yonhap)
