National Infectious Disease Risk Alert Level Lowered from YELLOW to BLUE

Contact: Moon Sang-jun, Division of Public Health Preparedness and Response
(043-719-9061, untohim@korea.kr)

◇ National Infectious Disease Risk Alert Level Lowered from YELLOW to BLUE, IMS will continue to be activated throughout the Chuseok holiday
◇ All 21 close contacts tested negative and will be released from quarantine on Sept. 22, 00:00
◇ Travelers to the Middle East during the holiday period are advised to follow health precautions and asked to cooperate with quarantine measures upon entry to ROK


□ The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) held a risk assessment meeting on the morning of Sept. 21 and decided to lower the national infectious disease risk alert level from YELLOW to BLUE starting from midnight (Sept. 22, 00:00).
* Alert level criteria:
BLUE - MERS case(s) abroad with no immediate threat of importation to ROK
YELLOW - domestic importation of MERS from abroad
ORANGE - confined spread of MERS within the country
RED - spread of MERS in communities across the country

○ The results of the confirmation tests conducted on Sept. 20 on the 21 quarantined close contacts returned negative.
* Close contacts will be released from quarantine at the end of the 14-day monitoring period (Sept. 22, 00:00)
** Casual contacts (396 as of Sept. 21, 12:00) will no longer undergo active monitoring starting from Sept. 22, 00:00

□ The national infectious disease risk alert level was lowered after taking into consideration that:
a) there are no domestic cases of MERS following the negative test results on Sept. 17 of the previously confirmed patient
b) there have been no additional confirmed cases among close contacts over the 14-day monitoring period

○ All close contacts were tested twice for MERS infection and both tests came back negative. As such, the results of the risk assessment meeting determined that the risk of any additional domestic cases due to the imported confirmed case is very low.

○ In the instance that there are no additional cases throughout the remainder of the monitoring period, all quarantined close contacts will be released from quarantine on Sept. 22, 00:00, and the national infectious disease risk alert level will be lowered to BLUE.

○ Even after the risk level has been lowered to BLUE, operations will continue to be conducted addressing the MERS situation regarding this imported case until the end of the designated period*. The MERS IMS will continue to be activated within the 24-hour Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to strengthen surveillance and response to any potential MERS cases.
* Until Oct. 16, 28 days (twice as long as the MERS incubation period) following the confirmed case's negative test results

□ KCDC expresses its utmost gratitude to the 21 quarantined close contacts, casual contacts, and the general public for cooperating with preventive measures, as well as healthcare professionals for all of their hard work.

○ KCDC will continue to work closely with relevant ministries, agencies, and local governments to prevent the additional spread of MERS due to this imported case.

○ KCDC confirmed that it will review and assess any gaps in its MERS response measures and improve upon them, as necessary.

○ Healthcare providers are advised to check the travel history of incoming patients with respiratory symptoms to see if they have recently traveled to the Middle East. The travel history of Korean nationals can be checked through the Drug Usage Review (DUR) system, while that of foreign nationals can be checked through direct questioning. Healthcare providers should report any patients suspected of MERS-CoV infection to local public health centers or call the KCDC Call Center at 1339.

○ When visiting the Middle East, individuals are advised to maintain proper personal hygiene, such as washing hands frequently, and to avoid visits to local farms, contact with camels, consumption of raw camel meat or camel milk, and unnecessary visits to local medical facilities.
- Individuals are asked to cooperate with quarantine procedures, such as honestly completing health status questionnaires at the time of entry.