South Korea authorities confirmed the death of another person diagnosed with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Tuesday, raising the toll from the outbreak to seven.
Over 2,800 people have been quarantined — up from 2,300 reported Monday — and more than 1,800 schools closed in an effort to halt the spread of the contagion, according to the state news agency Yonhap.
Authorities warned they will be tracking the cell phone signals of hundreds of people under quarantine – to ensure that they stay isolated – to check the spread of the disease.
Public health officials have been working frantically to contain the virus’s spread since the outbreak began on May 20. Eight new cases of the virus had been diagnosed, raising the number of infections to 95.
MERS is a viral respiratory illness that is new to humans. It was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since spread to several other countries.
Since May 2015, the Republic of Korea has been investigating an outbreak of MERS. It is the largest known outbreak of MERS outside the Middle East.
