Secrecy Surrounding MERS Outbreak Fuels Fear, Confusion In South Korea

By Ju-min Park and Sohee Kim SEOUL, June 2 (Reuters) - Fear and confusion mounted in South Korea over news of the first two deaths from an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and the government's decision not to name hospitals treating infected patients. Shoppers snapped-up face masks and hand sanitizers, and Samsung Electronics instituted twice-daily temperature checks of staff and said it would refrain from holding large-scale events. Life on Seoul's bustling streets, however, seemed as normal on Tuesday - a far cry from the empty sidewalks seen in Asian cities such as Hong Kong during the deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Some people donned masks, and a hospital official said many patients had canceled appointments apparently out of fear of being exposed to the respiratory illness. A public health expert said it was time to do away with the Korean tradition of groups casually visiting acquaintances in hospital, even when the patient may be recovering from an illness that was infectious. "It may be the obligatory thing to go and comfort your family or friend, but that person has to rest ... and in the current situation we've had cases where they were exposed while visiting hospitals," said Kim Woo-joo, head of the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases. National health officials have not identified the hospitals ...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news