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South Korea announces official end to MERS outbreak

South Korea announced on Wednesday the official end to a deadly outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that killed 36 people and sparked widespread panic in Asia's fourth-largest economy. World Health Organization standards call for a four-week waiting period after the last MERS patient fully recovers before an outbreak can definitively be said to be over. The virus infected 186 people, with nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes and thousands of schools temporarily closing at the peak of the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where it first appeared in 2012.

South Korea reports sixth MERS death, surge in infections

South Korea recorded its sixth death and biggest single day jump in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) infections on Monday, with 23 new cases in the largest outbreak of the potentially deadly virus outside Saudi Arabia. From just four cases two weeks ago, the total number of infections now stands at 87, including six people who have died. The latest fatality was an 80-year-old man who died Monday morning in a hospital in Daejeon, 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of Seoul, the health ministry said.