The government and the ruling Saenuri Party held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the spread of MERS, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.
 
Minister of Health and Welfare Moon Hyung-pyo said at the meeting that the next week will be a critical juncture in the nation’s fight against the disease, determining whether the spread will continue or be brought to a stop.
   
Moon apologized for causing concerns by failing to prevent the spread in its initial stages, adding that all the confirmed MERS patients are secondary transmissions who came down with the virus after staying in the same hospital ward as the initial patient.
   
He said that working together with the private sector the government is doing its utmost to prevent tertiary transmissions.
   
Saenuri Party chief policy maker Won Yoo-chul blasted health authorities for aggravating the situation by underestimating the problem and squandering a golden time with ineffective measures.
 
Won said the nation now has the world’s largest number of MERS patients outside of the Middle East because of loopholes in its anti-epidemic management system, calling for an overhaul and upgrade.

He also called for all means to be mobilized to contain MERS as this week is considered to be the turning point for the spread of the disease. He then urged health authorities to provide accurate information so that no groundless fears will spread among the public.
 
Meanwhile, the government and the ruling camp also decided to find out details, through cooperation with the U.S. military, of how live anthrax samples were sent to Osan Air Base. They also agreed to devise institutional and legal steps to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents.