An outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in South Korea has caused unease among Taiwanese, but South Koreans appear to be less concerned about the situation than their Taiwanese counterparts, a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) physician said following a trip to Seoul.
Chen Meng-yu (陳孟妤), the centers’ disease prevention physician, visited South Korea from Thursday last week to Tuesday to inspect the situation and provide disease prevention knowledge to Taiwanese residing there.
Chen told a press conference in Taipei yesterday afternoon that she visited a number of hospitals in Seoul — for which the CDC has just raised its travel advisory — to learn more about their treatment procedures for MERS patients and disease control measures.
Photo: CNA
“While [South] Korea’s first case of MERS coronavirus [MERS-CoV] was confirmed on May 20, the outbreak did not receive huge coverage in the [South] Korean media until Monday, indicating that [South] Koreans were less concerned about the disease than their Taiwanese counterparts,” Chen said.
However, panic over the MERS outbreak has begun to sweep across the nation, as rumors about the deadly virus circulate, she added.
According to WHO statistics, South Korea had 30 confirmed MERS cases and had put 1,364 people under quarantine as of yesterday.
Two individuals had died after contracting MERS-CoV.
In related news, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌) yesterday participated in a drill conducted at the ministry-affiliated Taoyuan General Hospital’s Sinwu Branch.
During the exercise, physicians simulated a situation in which a MERS-infected patient entered Taiwan before experiencing fever in community settings, and was sent to a negative-pressure isolation room for quarantine and treatment.
“When it comes to fighting diseases, we must anticipate the worst and prepare for the worst,” Chiang said.
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