5.5 billion won lost, 6700 quarantined, 36 deaths; these are the damages South Korea suffered from 2015 MERS epidemic. MERS, abbreviation for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, South Korea earned the unwanted title of the country with the world’s second most MERS cases. Thanks to the sacrifices of many, including the medical team who fought against the disease frontline, we now face the end of MERS. This outbreak that left Korea wounded, however, holds some valuable lessons for the future as this struggle will be a reminder for the need for full information disclosure to the public and quick and comprehensive quarantine of those affected.
For more than two weeks, the government actively hid the names of the hospitals that had treated MERS patients, during which time 64 people were affected, and 5 people died. Given that the government itself argued MERS did not spread outside the boundaries of hospital facilities, it is hard to understand why the information disclosure had to be this late. The government strategy was focused not on preventing more infection and fighting against the disease, but on protecting the hospitals and their lobby groups and fighting against its own people who in fear of the disease was criticizing the government. Faulty arrangement of priorities only caused further panic, and resulted in distrust. Even the Health Minister Moon Hyung pyo said, “I think the spread of MERS could have ended much earlier if we had reacted more thoroughly early on.” Time, at the peak of an epidemic, is immeasurably valuable. One day late could mean several people’s death and many others’ suffering. It’s about time the government reconsiders the importance of public’s right to know and its high correlation to government trust.
Quarantine was also problematic in many levels. The first confirmed MERS patient flew to Hong Kong and visited southern China, where he was then hospitalized by Chinese health authorities. The second confirmed patient was found on a golf course far away from home. Moreover, eight out of nine patients were infected in the emergency room. This statistic itself shows how problematic and dangerous our hospital facilities are. Emergency rooms should be more capacious, and each sickbed needs to be separated to prevent the airborne virus from spreading. Fast and effective quarantine, strict separation of MERS patients and others, safer emergency room and hospital facilities should be implemented as we get ready for next unpredictable epidemic.
As Bill Gates once said in his speech, “Today the greatest risk of global catastrophe […] is a highly infectious virus, not a nuclear war.” Effective quarantine and full disclosure of information to the public are necessities, not luxuries. I beg you, as a concerned but a proud citizen of South Korea, to notice the urgency and start taking action.