In a country as obsessed with education as South Korea, this is a very big deal. Via The Korea Herald: More than 200 schools temporarily close down over MERS. Excerpt:
More than 200 schools in four cities and provinces have decided to temporarily close to prevent Middle East respiratory syndrome infection among students, Korea’s top education official said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed MERS patients in Korea rose to 30 as of Wednesday morning.
The announcement by the Education Ministry came two days after two patients were killed by the deadly virus Monday. A total of 209 schools in four MERS-affected regions – Seoul and Gyeonggi, South Chungcheong and North Chungcheong provinces -- are being shut down. Among them, 183 of them are in Gyeonggi Province.
“We have decided that schools need stronger preventive measures than the general society,” said Education Minister Rep. Hwang Woo-yea. “Until epidemiologic studies are completed, we must do everything we can to protect our children.”
