South Korea has announced its 20th death from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), as criticism grows over authorities’ ability to contain the outbreak.
A 54-year-old woman died from MERS this morning, about two weeks after being diagnosed on June 5, the health ministry said.
It also reported eight new patients, bringing the total to 162, a day after the ministry said it was cautiously optimistic that the worst was over as the number of new cases appeared to be falling.
Almost all infections so far have been limited to hospitals, particularly the Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul.
But several new patients diagnosed in recent days were not among those placed under quarantine.
One new patient had developed symptoms on Saturday, but continued normal daily activities, including going to work and taking a trip to a public bathhouse.
The 52-year-old public servant, currently in isolation, visited his mother in late May while she was a patient in the Samsung hospital, and his sister was also diagnosed with MERS on June 10.
Another patient, an ambulance driver at the Samsung hospital, also continued to go to catch the subway to work days after developing symptoms.
Seoul’s major conservative newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, slammed the government for “unrealistically” playing down the magnitude of the outbreak.
“All the optimistic words and predictions from health authorities have turned out to be wrong so far,” it said in an editorial.
“We are concerned whether [health minister] Moon Hyung-Pyo… will ever be able to keep the situation under control.”