방역당국이 중동호흡기증후군(메르스)의 상황이 종료됐다고 밝혔다.
보건복지부는 23일 "세계보건기구(WHO) 기준에 따라 첫 환자로부터 시작된 메르 스 상황이 오늘 자정(24일 0시)에 종료된다"고 밝혔다.
이날은 마지막 메르스 환자였던 80번 환자가 안타깝게 숨진지 28일(메르스 바이 러스의 최장 잠복기인 14일의 두배)이 되는 날이다.
이로써 5월 20일에 중동호흡기증후군(메르스) 국내 환자가 처음 발생한 이후 21 8일 동안 이어졌던 메르스 우려 상황은 공식적으로 해소됐다.
방역당국은 그동안 '공식 종식'을 선언하는 방안을 검토했지만 표현의 강도를 낮춰 '상황 종료'로 대체했다.
정부는 지난 7월28일 더 이상의 메르스 감염 우려가 없는 만큼 국민에게 일상생 활로 복귀해줄 것을 당부하며 '사실상의 메르스 종식'을 선언한 바 있다. 또 80번 환자가 숨진 뒤인 지난 1일에는 위기 단계를 '주의'에서 '관심'으로 낮췄다.
복지부는 "신종감염병의 해외 유입 가능성은 계속 있으므로 신종 감염병 방역대 책을 계속해서 차질 없이 추진해 나갈 것"이라고 밝혔다. (연합)
<관련 영문 기사>
Korea to declare end to MERS threat 7 months after first outbreak
South Korea is to formally declare an end to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome health threat at midnight Wednesday, more than seven months after the first case was confirmed in the country, the government said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the decision follows guidelines set by the World Health Organization that states an "end of transmission" can be declared 28 days after the death of the last MERS-infected patient.
The 28 days takes into account the maximum incubation period for MERS, which is 14 days, and doubling this as an extra precaution.
A person who had been suffering from cancer died from MERS-related complications on Nov. 25. He was diagnosed as having been infected by the MERS virus months earlier.
The planned announcement follows authorities downgrading the country's readiness level from "yellow" to "blue" on Dec. 1, which is the lowest alert status.
The respiratory disease, which was first confirmed on May 20, claimed 38 people, with a total of 187 people in total being infected. Thousands of people were quarantined as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of the disease, although the last new case was reported on July 4.
The ministry said that while it is declaring an end to the public health threat, it will maintain watch on overseas developments, since new cases are still being reported in Saudi Arabia and some Middle Eastern countries.
It also said the country will improve its readiness to cope with such outbreaks in the future. (Yonhap)
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