ed MERS and civic duties

Public must exercise vigilance and respect health guidelines

It was dumbfounding to learn that a 50-year-old woman, a resident of Seoul, defied a stay-at-home isolation order in regards to MERS to go golfing in a southern part of Korea. She tested negative in her first test but still was under the isolation order. Her designated clinic, with the help of the police, found her in North Jeolla Province. She said she was feeling boxed-in and wanted some air.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is spreading rapidly in Korea, where the country now has more than 1,600 people quarantined or under observation at home. More than 700 schools and kindergartens have agreed to temporary closure.

But with less-than-cooperative citizenry, dealing with MERS will be like trying to move a mountain.

While the government is being criticized for not disclosing information about hospitals that treated patients, the public has been less than forthcoming as well. The first MERS patient, who it took days to confirm, initially withheld information that his Middle East trip included Saudi Arabia, where the first MERS outbreak occurred in 2012. The Korean MERS patient currently quarantined in China allegedly provided false information to authorities in Hong Kong. Hong Kong, which suffered greatly during the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome, said the Korean patient could face legal action if he enters the city again.

MERS is one of the first outbreaks to really pounce on Korea. In the global outbreaks of SARS and Ebola, Korea managed to remain largely unscathed. But the unprecedented, rapid spread of MERS in Korea has caught many off-guard including health authorities. There is bound to be confusion because there is no cure for MERS and the origins and transmissions of the virus are unknown. The initial response from health authorities was dismally disappointing, but citizens should now rigorously fulfill their civic obligations to contain MERS.

Authorities have issued a health advisory that stresses washing hands frequently, wearing a mask and cutting down on droplet transmissions by covering mouths or noses when coughing and sneezing. Koreans to date have enjoyed full freedom to cough or sneeze on public transit without using handkerchiefs or their arms, but this can no longer be the case. People have been feverishly sharing information ― both scientific and rumor-level ― through SNS, triggering unnecessary angst. Vigilance is welcome, but not panic.

Those who defy the health authorities’ orders for quarantine or hospitalization could face penalties in Korea. In other countries such as Hong Kong, the punitive measures are far stronger, including imprisonment. The preventive steps required of the Korean citizenry in the MERS situation will not be comfortable, but they will most likely save lives.kr