PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 Update on MERS outbreak: 6 dead; 87 infections confirmed

" PRIME TIME NEWS 22:00 " The Korean government plans to grant greater power to relevant experts to try and gain an upper hand in the fight against the virus. At the confirmation hearing for Korea′s Prime Minister nominee, lawmakers throw out some tough questions on suspicious funds and draft dodging. Ahead of the G7 summit, leaders of the U.S. and Germany sit down to discuss ways to more effectively counter Russia′s aggression against Ukraine. Stay with us for these stories and more. It′s 10pm on a Monday here in Korea. I′m Hwang Ji-hye for Prime Time News. And I′m Daniel Choy. Good to have you with us. Title: Update on MERS outbreak: 6 dead; 87 infections confirmed The Korean government confirmed twenty-three more cases today,... bringing the total number of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome patients to eighty-seven. And one more patient died today... raising the death toll to SIX. For more, we connect to Ji Myung-kil at the news center.... Myung-kil what do we know about this latest MERS victim? Health authorities confirmed today that the victim was a male patient in his 80s who died while being treated at a hospital in Daejeon. Originally he had been showing symptoms of pneumonia but tested positive for MERS two days ago and was moved to an isolation ward within the hospital. He was set to be transported to a government-designated hospital in the afternoon but unfortunately died in the morning. Korea′s health ministry said 17 of the newly confirmed MERS cases came from the same hospital and contracted the virus from the fourteenth patient at the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. We also have the first case of a teenager coming down with MERS. The male high school student had received brain surgery at the Samsung Medical Center late last month and is believed to have caught the virus while there. Health authorities reassured that the young boy did not have contact with anyone outside the hosptial. In a press briefing this morning, health officials from the MERS Central Response Headquarters said they expect that further spread of the virus will peak this week and probably start to drop off soon after. Although health experts have said it was unnecessary to close schools,... we know that hundreds of schools remained closed today. Do you have an update on the overall figures? Well, Daniel,... nearly 2-thousand schools were closed today due to concerns over students′ safety. It′s affected Kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools,... and also over a dozen universities. This means ONE out of TEN schools across the country... were closed. Let′s take a closer look at the numbers.... Currently, 87 patients are confirmed with MERS,... more than sixteen-hundred people are suspected infectees,... six deaths have been reported, but there have also been two recoveries... and more than twenty-five hundred people remain under quarantine. Now, World Health Organization officials will be visiting Korea tomorr