An additional confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has been reported by South Korean health officials (computer translated), bring the case tally to 185 since the outbreak began on May 20.
Two dozen health care providers are part of the MERS total in the country. The death toll remains at 33.
The MERS outbreak has had a demonstrable effect on the Korean economy and tourism. This has prompted the Korean government to approve and inject a 22-trillion-won ($19.8 billion) stimulus package.
“The extra budget will help revitalize the economy and stabilize the livelihoods of ordinary people who have been affected the most by the fallout from MERS,” Vice Finance Minister Bang Moon-Kyu was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
The government of the Republic of Korea continues to implement intense case and contact management activities. As of 3 July, 2,067 contacts are being monitored while a total of 14,062 contacts have been released. New contacts continue to be added on a daily basis as they are identified.
The Korean government has decided to provide advance payments of health insurance for medical institutions that are experiencing financial difficulties due to the current MERS-CoV outbreak.
Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1,365 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 487 related deaths.
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