Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    THE confirmed number of Shenzhen residents who had been in close contact with the first patient in China with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) rose to four, but none of them showed signs of infection, the city’s center for disease control and prevention (CDC) said yesterday.

    In addition to the man who worked as the translator for Kim Myoung-sik, the 44-year-old South Korean patient with MERS, the other three flew on the same flight with Kim from Seoul to Hong Kong on Tuesday, Cheng Jinquan, director of the city’s CDC, told reporters yesterday.

    Among them, two are a couple living in Longgang District and another lives in Nanshan District. Test results for all have come back negative, but they are being required to stay in a local hospital for 14 days of observation. All of the homes and work places where they stayed have been sterilized. No more details about the three were given.

    Kim’s condition began to worsen Sunday and continued to get worse yesterday. But he was conscious, with stable vital signs and a normal heart rate, the provincial health commission said late yesterday.

    Kim traveled to Huizhou by bus via Shenzhen’s Shatoujiao Checkpoint on Tuesday, a day after his father was diagnosed with MERS. He ignored instructions from South Korean doctors to stay home.

    The number of people who had been in close contact with Kim rose to 77 in Guangdong by Sunday with 67 being quarantined while the 10 others, who were passengers on the bus to Huizhou boarded by Kim, haven’t been able to be contacted, the provincial commission said.

    Two of the three Shenzhen residents who were newly put under isolation reported to the local CDC on their own will and the remaining one was located by the Nanshan health authorities, according to the CDC. Cheng asked Shenzhen residents who were on board Asiana Airlines OZ723 and the bus to Huizhou with Kim on Tuesday to report to them.

    “It’s highly possible for Shenzhen to receive a MERS patient as the city has a large number of visitors every day from around China and overseas,” Cheng said. “But it’s impossible that there would be an outbreak in the city as the virus does not show a high human-to-human transmission rate.”

    Cheng suggested residents maintain personal hygiene, and avoid eating undercooked meat. (More on P5)