Schools in South Korea reopened Monday, June 15, 2015 after operations were suspended due to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the reopening of schools as no cases of MERS have been associated with the academic institutions of the country. However, five new cases have been reported by the Health Ministry on the same day that the classes resumed, making the total confirmed cases of MERS in the country to be 150.
Among the first schools to stop their operations was Myoungin Elementary School in the city of Suwon, south of Seoul. After 10 days, the school reopened its doors with a distinct preventive measure against MERS. Teachers waited for the students at the school gate and took their body temperatures prior to entering. Those who have fever are sent home.
"The child's mother and I both work, so I think it's better for kids to be in school where there can be proper measures, rather than keeping them home," said Bin Ko-ok, who has a grandchild currently enrolled in the first-grade class.
She accompanied her grandchild on the first day that the school reopened. According to Kim Hak-yu, the principal of the school, she has not received any complaints or phone calls in relation to the resume of classes.
Almost all patients who were infected with MERS acquired the disease in medical institutions. They were either patients or medical health workers. South Korea holds the record for the largest MERS outbreak outside of Saudi Arabia, with 16 fatalities and more than 5,500 individuals under quarantine. The number of suspected patients is expected to rise by up to 10,000. Four hospitals, including Samsung Medical Center, which is pointed as the center of the disease spread, closed down their facilities.
The five new patients contracted the virus in hospitals located in Seoul and Daejeon, which 140 kilometers away from the capital city. One was infected in Samsung Medical Center and the other one is a doctor from Daejeon, who acquired the disease after performing CPR on a patient.
WHO has called for a meeting scheduled on Tuesday, June 16, 2015, to discuss the massive outbreak in the country. The first ever case of MERS in South Korea is said to be a businessman who returned to the country after a trip to the Middle East.
Photo: watchsmart | Flickr
