SEOUL, June 8 (Korea Bizwire) – After the government identified all of the hospitals affected by the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on June 7, hospitals opened and carried out normal operations. However, their number of patient visits dropped precipitously.
Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, one of the affected hospitals, was almost empty on June 7. There were less than 10 people in the lobby, which is usually the hospital’s most crowded area. Hospital staff including medical crews all wore masks, and it was hard to find to anyone without a mask in the hospital. One of the doctors at the hospital has been diagnosed with MERS, and apparently was in close contact with over 1,500 people.
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