Korean authorities will officially announce the end of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) at midnight Wednesday, more than seven months after the first case occurred in the nation, Yonhap reported.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that the decision is based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines that stipulate that “an end of transmission” can be declared 28 days after the death of the last MERS patient.
The 28 days are double the incubation period of MERS, which is 14 days.
A patient suffering from cancer sustained MERS-related complications and died on Nov. 25. He was diagnosed with the MERS virus months earlier.
The respiratory disease, first confirmed in Korea on May 20, affected 187 people. It resulted in the death of 38 people.
The government said that it will however continue to maintain its watch on overseas developments.