South Korea is bracing this virus for the third week now and essentially “the most important period” for the curbing the spread.
Hard News :
- Death toll rose to 9.
- Confirmed cases went up to 122.
- About 3,800 people quarantined.
- Outbreak of MERS may slow down growth and spending.
- Elderly people are more vulnerable.
Good News in hard times :
- Mandatory quarantine period for patients from the most-affected hospital are nearing the end. Shortly they may be released.
- The deaths are due to severe pre-existing conditions
- The Bank of Korea is trimming its key interest rate a quarter percentage point to 1.5%.
- As soon as people are identified as cases they are isolated immediately.
- Teenagers are not much affected.
Since the virus is fairly new, doctors and scientists do not know its exact source or mode of transmission.
“I think that things will settle down shortly,” said Professor Alimuddin Zumla, who co-authored a comprehensive review on MERS published in the Lancet.
He said that searching for MERS cases “always leads to finding positive cases, especially those who are asymptomatic, or think they have a common cold. The numbers will dwindle soon and the outbreak controlled in the next few weeks.”
Even though virus is considered not to be very contagious, South Koreans are still being told to take basic preventive steps like cleaning their hands periodically, covering coughs and avoiding personal contact.
