South Korea reports 20th death from MERS virus

South Korea on Wednesday announced its 20th death from the MERS virus as criticism grew of efforts to contain the outbreak, with alarming reports of new cases slipping through a quarantine that already affects thousands.

A 54-year-old woman died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome today morning after being diagnosed on June 5, the health ministry said.

It also reported eight new patients including four who had been infected at Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, considered the epicentre of the outbreak.

This took the total number of infections including those who have died to 162, the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.

Seventeen patients are in critical condition, the ministry said, adding 19 had recovered and been released from hospital. The number of new infections had fallen for three days in a row from 12 on Friday to four on Tuesday, when the ministry said it was cautiously optimistic the worst was over.

But the latest number dashed such hopes, as a health official raised concerns over more new infections beyond the Samsung hospital.

“We think that more new cases can sporadically occur en masse in hospitals other than Samsung,” Kwon Joon-Wook, a senior health ministry official, told reporters. The government aims to curb outbreaks in 11 hospitals considered major epicentres -- including Samsung -- by the end of this month, he added.