By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
South Korea announced two more MERS deaths Wednesday morning, bringing the viral outbreak's number of local victims to 35.
Far from the panic of last month, the country had gone more than a week without reporting any fatalities related to the flu-like illness.
Since May 20, South Korea has witnessed 186 MERS infections -- having never before experienced a single case of the disease that was only discovered in humans three years ago in Saudi Arabia.
The latest deaths both fit the pattern of the virus striking the elderly and infirm hardest -- just three local victims have been considered young and healthy, according to the South's health ministry.
Eight of 32 patients still in hospital were in an unstable condition as of the latest ministry briefing.
Aside from a spurt of new infections last week out of Seoul's prestigious Samsung Medical Center, which has been linked to around half of the country's cases, the outbreak has been brought under control.
More than 800 people are still subject to isolation orders, but that figure is dwarfed by the number of those released from quarantine measures so far -- 15,761.
The authorities have exercised great caution in tracking down anyone who may have come into contact with MERS, after being caught by surprise when a man in his 60s inadvertently spread the virus having returned from the Middle East in early May.
Travel to South Korea is deemed safe by the World Health Organization because the outbreak has been limited to healthcare settings, most of which are operating as normal but with mandatory temperature checks on new arrivals and visitors.
