PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 Korea declares de facto end to MERS outbreak

PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 The Korean government announces a ′de-facto′ end to MERS, as no new cases were confirmed for 23 straight days,... and zero patients in quarantine. North Korea′s ambassador to China defends Pyongyang′s nuclear program as a necessity to protect itself from Washington and Seoul′s hostilities, demanding the world to stop comparing the communist state to Iran. China′s stock market continues to fall,... striking fear in investors around the world. Korea′s Financial Services Commission vows to stay vigilant and look out for possible effects the Chinese slump could have on the Korean economy. All next on Prime Time News. Hello... and welcome to Prime Time News... on this Tuesday, July 28th. I′m Daniel Choy. And I′m Hwang Ji-hye. Thanks for joining us. Title: Korea declares de facto end to MERS outbreak It′s been almost ten weeks since the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome was reported in Korea. Today the government has declared the de facto end to the outbreak. Officials say we can breathe a little easier now. Han Da-eun starts us off. "All 15 hospitals affected by the MERS outbreak have been released from special watch. On top of this,.. no new cases have been confirmed for 23 straight days,... and the number of people in quarantine is zero. Given the circumstances,... the government and the medical world believe our citizens can relax. The virus no longer poses a threat." The battle is virtually over. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday announced a de facto end to the MERS outbreak that claimed 36 lives and infected 186 people in Korea. The declaration comes 69 days since the first case was confirmed on May 20th. The prime minister encouraged the public to continue on with their daily lives without the slightest concern about MERS. Hwang added that he hoped to see citizens fully reengage in the various economic, cultural and educational activities they were involved in before the outbreak. Apologizing for the government′s poor handling of the crisis in the early stages, the prime minister pledged to examine the reasons why... to learn from the mistakes that were made. "I will find out what went wrong with the initial response to the outbreak and take all the necessary follow-up measures." The prime minister vowed to uphold the elevated watch level at medical facilities until the outbreak is declared officially over. Eleven of the twelve remaining MERS patients still in hospital have tested negative, but one patient has shown mixed results, and is set to undergo further testing this week. The official end to the outbreak is expected to come at the end of next month,... as the World Health Organization suggests a 28-day "wait-and-see period" after the final MERS patient tests negative. Han Da-eun, Arirang News. Title: Seven countries call off MERS travel advisories for Korea Seoul′s foreign ministry says seven countries have lifted their travel advisorie