By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Three more cases of influenza A were confirmed in Korea over the weekend, raising the number here to 61.
The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said the five are a 19-year-old Australian Lacrosse player who arrived via Hong Kong; a 56-year-old Chinese man in transit to Guangzhou; a 7-year-old Korean American from Los Angeles; an 11-year-old Korean-Australian on a school break; and a 47-year-old South Korean man who recently returned from Dallas, Texas.
The ministry said 12 of the 61 are being closely monitored in hospitals ㅡ the remainder have been discharged.
The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its alert level to the highest ``Phase 6,'' which indicates a pandemic is underway. According to WHO, some 70 countries have reported over 27,700 cases of the H1N1 infection, and 140 have died. So far, South Korea has reported no deaths.
kswho@koreatimes.co.kr