S. Korea's health minister apologizes for MERS cases
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, June 1, 2015
South Korea's health minister apologized Sunday for failing to halt an outbreak of the MERS virus, vowing "utmost efforts" to curb the disease spread as the number of people infected rose to 15.
"We apologize for causing concern and anxiety among people due to our initial judgment on the contagiousness of MERS," Moon Hyung-Pyo told reporters.
Moon said this week would be a "critical period" to contain the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which can cause symptoms ranging from flu-like aches and pains to pneumonia and kidney failure.
"We are making our utmost efforts to prevent the further spread of the disease," Moon said, urging the public not to panic.
The South Korean government's initial response to the outbreak has been heavily criticized. Among the 14 cases of secondary contagion, seven were not on the government's list of people required to be isolated and observed.
The seven had been in the same ward as the first patient but were initially excluded from the isolation list because they hadn't been in the same room.
The South Korean health ministry is planning to isolate all high-risk suspects who had close contact with those already infected. They would be isolated and observed in the next 14 days.
Officials of private health groups complained about South Korea's initial response during their meeting with Moon yesterday.
They pointed out various issues, including delays to MERS test results, the government's failure to share medical records of infected persons with doctors and the lack of information on those who had close contact with the MERS patients.
Some stressed the need for harsher punishments for people who had close contact with infected patients but failed to report to the health authorities.
Under a contagion prevention law, those suspected of infection and the doctors who examined them can be fined up to 3 million won (US$2,700) for failing to make reports.
Moon said the hospital where the first outbreak was reported had been closed and all patients were being treated under quarantine.
Health officials also came under fire for allowing an infected man to travel to China despite warnings from doctors.
The 44-year-old left on a business trip last Tuesday, a day after his father was diagnosed with the virus, and was confirmed on Thursday to have been infected himself.
The man flew to Hong Kong before travelling by bus to the southern province of Guangdong, where he is currently under quarantine.
Of the 77 people who had been in close contact with him in Guangdong, officials said, 64 have been quarantined while 13 others, including 11 bus passengers, have remained out of contact.
The current outbreak has been traced to a 68-year-old man diagnosed on May 20 after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia.
MERS is a deadlier but less infectious cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds of people when it appeared in Asia in 2003.
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