South Korea MERS cases rise to 122 as fears mount over impact on economy

South Korea's health ministry on Thursday reported 14 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), taking the total to 122 as the central bank lowered its key interest rate to a historic low on the prospect that the outbreak could slow the economy.

Among the newly reported cases in an outbreak that is the largest outside Saudi Arabia was a pregnant woman who contracted the virus at the emergency ward of a Seoul hospital that has been linked to a number of other confirmed cases, the ministry said. Authorities in the country also reported a 10th casualty from the outbreak — a 65-year-old terminal lung cancer patient whose condition deteriorated after testing positive for the MERS virus.

The rising numbers have sparked concern both within South Korea and across the region. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has put off a trip to the United States to deal with an outbreak that has so far led to the closure of hundreds of schools in a bid to stem the spread.

Meanwhile Hong Kong issued a "red alert" advisory on Tuesday against non-essential travel to South Korea, while Singapore Airlines said it would waive fees for customers who want to cancel or re-book flights to South Korea.

Despite the fears, only one case has been reported outside South Korea in the current outbreak, that of a South Korean man who traveled to China via Hong Kong after defying a suggestion from health authorities that he stay in voluntary quarantine at home.

In Hong Kong, authorities were testing two people for possible symptoms of MERS on Thursday.

The two had both recently traveled to South Korea, said the clinic that was treating them. Thirty-one people in Hong Kong who suspected they might have caught the disease have tested negative.

Eight of the 14 new cases in South Korea, including the pregnant woman, have been linked to the same Seoul hospital, the health ministry said.

The woman's parents had also previously tested positive to MERS, the ministry said. The woman was reported to be in stable condition.

It comes amid concern that the outbreak — and fears of its wider spread — could have on South Korea's economy.

Bank of Korea policymakers on Thursday cut the policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.5 percent, the second rate cut this year because the MERS virus could hurt businesses and dent consumptions as travelers cancel trips and people stay home out of worries of contagion. Industries that count Chinese tourists as key clients, such as airlines and cosmetics, are likely to be among the hardest hit.

Concerns over the impact of MERS has seen South Korean authorities rub up against the advice of international health experts, who urge calm.

A joint South Korean-World Health Organization mission on Wednesday recommended that schools be reopened as they were unlikely to spread the disease, just as school boards recommended more be shut.

First identified in humans in 2012, MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). There is no cure or vaccine.

South Korea's new cases bring the total number of MERS cases globally to 1,271 based on WHO data, with at least 448 related deaths. The country has the second highest number of cases after Saudi Arabia, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Wire services