South Korea reports one death, no new MERS cases

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SEOUL: South Korea said on Tuesday it had gone three days without any new cases of the deadly MERS virus, a sure sign of recovery from health crisis.

The news came as the health ministry said an 81-year-old woman who contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in late May had become the 33rd fatality from the current outbreak.

The number of those to have been infected remained unchanged at 182, the ministry said.

The number of new cases has generally been in decline since mid-June, when it often jumped by double digits.

South Korea reported its first MERS case on 20 May 2015.

A 68-year-old man returning from the Middle East was diagnosed with MERS nine days after he initially sought medical help.