SEOUL — South Korea reported a 10th death from the MERS virus on Thursday, although officials say they believe the disease has peaked. The victim was a 65-year-old man who had been treated for lung cancer and was hospitalized in the same facility as another MERS patient, the Health Ministry said. The outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome has caused panic in South Korea. It has infected more than 120 people since the first case, a 68-year-old man who had traveled to the Middle East, was diagnosed on May 20. About 3,800 people remained isolated Thursday after possible contact with infected people, according to the ministry, and more than 2,600 schools and kindergartens across South Korea were closed. On Wednesday, experts from the World Health Organization and South Korea urged the schools' reopening as the outbreak in the country has so far been contained to hospitals and there is no evidence of sustained transmission in the community. — AP
