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SOUTH Korea’s prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has officially declared the end of the MERS outbreak in the country.
While speaking to government officials in a meeting in Seoul, he said “the people can now be free from worry”, citing that there has been no new infections in the country for 23 consecutive days.
“I ask the public to shake off all concerns over MERS and to resume normal daily activities, including economic, cultural, leisure and school activities,” he added.
However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) did not sing the same tune, and said that they required 28 days without new infections to declare the country virus-free.
Meanwhile, screening at airports would remain in place “until the situation comes to a formal end”, said Kwon Duk-cheo, a South Korean health ministry official, according to an AFP report.
The virus was responsible for 36 deaths and infected 186 people in total. It began on May 26, brought to South Korea by a man who had visited the Middle East, where the virus originated from.
