SEOUL — South Korea on Thursday confirmed that a man who died a day earlier had been infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the third fatality in a virus outbreak that has fuelled growing alarm in the country. The 82-year old South Korean, in hospital with asthma and bacterial pneumonia, had shared a room with others infected with MERS and died on Wednesday night, the Health Ministry said in a statement. The victim became the 36th confirmed MERS infection in South Korea, which has the most cases outside the Middle East. More than 1,100 schools were closed in South Korea on Thursday, while North Korea called for border checks. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has demanded that everything be done to halt the outbreak, which began two weeks ago, brought into the country by a South Korean man returning from a business trip to the Middle East. — Reuters
