South Korea confirmed Friday four more cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 126.
Three of the newly infected patients appear to have caught the virus at Samsung Medical Center in southern Seoul, while another patient — a 70-year-old woman — appears to have been infected at Pyeongtaek Goodmorning Hospital, according to the MERS special response team at the Health Ministry.
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| Nurses and military officiers put on protective gear at a hospital in Daejeon that recently reported a MERS patient. (Yonhap) |
Authorities have also revealed test results of five patients of whom they failed to identify the route of infection for on Thursday. Two were found to have caught the virus at the emergency room of Samsung Medical Center while two others were exposed to the virus at Pyeongtaek Goodmorning Hospital.
But the ministry remained unsure about where the fifth patient — a 35-year-old man — had been infected, although they said it is possible he caught the virus while visiting Pyeongtaek Bagae Hospital on May 31.
The patient had originally been quarantined on June 2 after being identified as a suspected case. He was released from the hospital on June 4, but was readmitted to another hospital on June 5 after showing symptoms.
If the authorities are right about the policeman being infected on May 31, it means he roamed through the general public for at least a full day.
As of Thursday, Korea has reported 10 MERS-related deaths. Over 3,800 are quarantined for possible infection.
By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
