South Korea should stand united to fight the MERS virus, the ruling party chief said Monday, calling for support for medical workers at the frontline of the anti-epidemic fight.
“No cheering and encouragement should be spared for the doctors and nurses who showed full commitment at the frontline” to fight the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, ruling Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung said in a party meeting.
The country is struggling to contain the outbreak of MERS, which has killed 27 people since the report of the first MERS patient on May 20.
A total of 169 South Koreans had been diagnosed with the acute respiratory disease as of Monday.
“All the people in the country should stand with one mind until the day the complete eradication of MERS is declared,” Kim said, adding that mature civic awareness and sense of community may help contain the virus.
Main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy leader Moon Jae-in, meanwhile, demanded that President Park Geun-hye apologize for the spread of the virus, accusing the government of fumbling the initial response to contain the disease.
“It’s a disaster caused by the government’s inability that was (seen) in the ferry Sewol tragedy,” Moon said in a joint statement with senior party members, referring to the deadly ferry sinking last year.
“The government leadership and its crisis control capacity have never been as lax as now,” the statement said, adding, “President Park’s sincere apology is needed.”
With the spread blamed on the lack of official information on the daily movements of MERS patients, the government came under fire for failing to move quickly to contain the disease. (Yonhap)
