MERS: New case reported after 4-day break

The latest patient is a female nurse at a Seoul hospital where 88 people are known to have caught the virus.

It would appear that South Korea is not yet in the clear with the deadly MERS virus as the country has reported a new case after a 4-day break.

The latest patient is a female nurse at a Seoul hospital where 88 people are known to have caught the virus.

This brings the total number of cases  in the country to 183, 33 of whom have died.

According to South Korean news agency, Yonhap, 2,238 people who had come into contact with MERS patients were in isolation as of Thursday, down from 2,451 the day before.

It added that South Korea had now gone two consecutive days without a new death.

Yesterday (Wednesday), the country announced an ease on visa regulations for Asian visitors, in an attempt to stem the damage done to the tourist industry by MERS fears, even as officials say foreign visits in June were down 50% compared to the same period last year.

In the meantime, the Samsung Medical Center, the hospital which records the highest number of cases and was blamed for fuelling the spread of the disease, has closed indefinitely to tackle the outbreak.

The clinic's president apologised publicly last month for its failure to properly manage MERS admissions, allowing the virus to spread.