https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/608462820028641282
Here is an interesting chart that shows where the majority of the MERS infection are coming from in Korea:
A major worry about the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak is coming true: The disease is spreading to other regions as people who visited Samsung Medical Center move from Seoul not knowing that they’re infected.
Samsung, one of Korea’s biggest and best hospitals, accepts patients from every corner of the country. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is worrying about possible fourth-generation infections, although none have been reported.
The health authority announced nine more MERS cases on Tuesday, raising the total number of patients to 95, and reported one more fatality, Patient No. 47, the country’s seventh victim. Nine MERS patients, Patients No. 12, 23, 24, 28, 42, 58, 74, 81 and 83, are in critical condition. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link, but it looks like the infections are happening in the emergency rooms. The lesson learned would appear to be to stay away from emergency rooms until this outbreak gets contained.
I think the lesson that Koreans traveling overseas on working holiday visas is to not work for other Koreans:
Most young Koreans participating in working holiday programs face a wide range of unfair labor practices and racial discrimination, according to the minor opposition Justice Party.
Six out of 10 working holiday visa holders experienced exploitation by employers, and four out of 10 suffered racial discrimination.
Alleged unfair practices include violation of the minimum wage rule, delayed payments, physical and verbal abuse, and sexual harassment, the party said in a report.
The party called on the government to monitor the situation and take measures swiftly, saying the victims complained of difficulty in seeking help through diplomatic channels.
“Among the victims, there was not a single person who sought help from the embassy or consulate to solve the problem,” she added, citing that distrust toward the government is prevalent among the visa holders.
The Justice Party conducted a 20-day survey of labor conditions related to working holiday programs from May 8 to 28, and publicized its report Monday. Of 100 respondents who experienced working holiday programs, 58 percent said they experienced unfair labor treatment.
About 65 percent reported violation of minimum wage rule, followed by delayed payments (39.7 percent); violation of contracts (29.3 percent); unfair dismissal (15.5 percent); physical and verbal abuse (6.9 percent); and sexual harassment (1.7 percent).
Of the four nations involved ― Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan ― Australia ranked tops in the percentage of unfair treatment of Korean workers, with 72.1 percent. Of all cases in Australia, 70.5 percent of illegal practices were found in businesses run by Koreans. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but how are these working holiday visa holder experiencing racism when they are being exploited by primarily other Koreans?
In Korea’s MERS outbreak, lessons from SARS highlighted http://t.co/YDuU3WkNvg pic.twitter.com/Q9AxXkLCdw
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 9, 2015
According to this CNN article people should not really be all that concerned because the virus is not as contagious as believed:
The numbers sound scary as cases and deaths of MERS mount daily in South Korea.People are commuting with face masks in a densely crowded Asian capital, schools are shutting doors and mandatory quarantines are in effect. But what really are the risks and dangers to the general public?As one official said, South Korea is fighting two battles: MERS and public fear.Should I be worried about getting MERS?
Not really.
“It’s not a very contagious disease,” said Dr. Stanley Perlman, one of the authors of a comprehensive MERS review published in the journal Lancet this month. “Personally, people shouldn’t be worried, but I can understand the fear factor.” South Koreans are being told to take basic preventative measures like keeping hands clean, covering coughs and avoiding personal contact.
A person with MERS is estimated to infect less than one other person. It’s called a basic reproduction number that estimates the average number of people that a sick person will infect.
Compared with the reproduction number for Ebola, (in which one infected person is likely to spread the disease to two other people) or measles (one infected person is likely to to spread the infection to 15 other people), the rate of MERS is low indeed. [CNN]
You can read more at the link.
Here is a unique soju commercial launched on YouTube featuring rhythmic gymnast Lee Su-rin which has gone viral in Korea:
A video ad for a recently introduced domestic soju Soonhari Chum Churum (meaning “soft, like first” in Korean) is going viral.
The video shows Korean gymnast Lee Su-rin, famous for being look-alike with idol singer Suzy from four-member girl band Miss A, performing her club event using two bottles of the product, introduced by Lotte Chilsung Beverage in March, as her clubs.
The 1:26 minute-long ad, with help of computer graphic effects, shows Lee managing a perfect performance, throwing and catching the bottles in collaboration with other gymnastic techniques. The ad’s fun is added by two TV commentators who slyly mimic real sports commentators and exaggerate their reaction to Lee. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link or just watch the video below:
https://youtu.be/laRZ1JjVX7U
I could not find out what Lee Su-rin’s age is, but if she is under the age of 24 she is not supposed to be doing alcohol commercials. I wonder if that is why this commercial was released on YouTube as a work around to not be in violation of the new alcohol law?
— KimcheeGI (@KimcheeGI) June 2, 2015
South Korean authorities have identified the man who first brought MERS to Korea after traveling to the Middle East:
The World Health Organization warned that the MERS outbreak in South Korea is likely to grow, as the number of people under quarantine crept up to 1,369 on Wednesday.
The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed five new cases — increasing the number of people with the disease to 35. These new cases were contracted within hospitals.
So far, three people have died after contracting the respiratory virus in South Korea, the country’s Health Ministry said Thursday, in the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.
The first case, concerning a man who returned to South Korea after traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain, was reported on May 20. The person had not been ill during his travels, according to the World Health Organization.
More than 900 schools have shut to prevent the spread of the virus, according to South Korea’s education ministry. [CNN]
You can read more at the link, but the Park Guen-hye government is taking a lot of criticism for not reacting better to the initial outbreak. I don’t see how the government is to blame for a lack of a hospital not taking the first case seriously from the start. It seems that once the virus spread the government formed a task force to begin to take measures to stop the spread, but the initial poor handling from the hospital is what is really to blame. However that is the way it goes in Korea where the President tends to get blamed for everything that goes wrong. It will be interesting to see if the Korean left tries to capitalize on this politically?
Also of interest is that South Korea has closed over 900 schools while us military schools remain open. It will be interesting to see how long the US military schools remain open if there is any more spread of the virus on Osan AB for example.
https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/606376778353876994
It is pretty bad that a healthcare provider would violate a quarantine and put this many people at risk of contracting the MERS virus:
A medical doctor in Seoul came into contact with over 1,000 citizens while infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the city government said Thursday, sparking concerns of the further spread of the deadly virus.
The doctor, who works for a large general hospital in the capital city, attended large-scale events on the weekend, even after he was ordered into quarantine last week for showing suspected symptoms, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
“On Saturday, the doctor attended the union meeting for the reconstruction of an apartment complex in Gaepo-dong, Seoul, which was attended by a total of 1,565 local people,” Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in an emergency briefing.
“He also attended two meetings of medical societies he is affiliated with on Saturday and Sunday, and visited several other public places,” he added.
On Monday, he was confirmed as testing positive for MERS and sent to a public facility for MERS patients. He contracted the virus after coming into contact with the country’s 14th MERS patient at the hospital where he works, according to the city officials.
Criticizing the central government for not sharing the relevant information with the municipal government and not doing enough to contain the virus, the mayor vowed “to devise the city’s own countermeasures to protect citizens.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but the MERS virus has now killed 3 people in Korea and continues to spread. I don’t know how the Korean medical community works, but it seems to me this should be something that should be grounds for removing his medical license.
