In this photo by Ahn Young-joon, elementary school students wearing masks return to a school in Seoul, South Korea, that reopened Monday after a temporary closure due to the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome. About 2,900 of the country’s schools and kindergartens had been closed, but the World Health Organization last week urged them to be reopened because the disease is not spreading in the larger community. Many people are seen on the streets wearing masks, and the public transportation system is being disinfected regularly to prevent the virus from spreading. All of the South Korean cases have been tied to hospitals where MERS patients have been treated, including fellow patients, medical staff and visiting family members. The head of the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jeong Eun-kyeong, said the number of MERS cases is now 150 and two more deaths have raised the toll to 16.
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Image of Asia: Schools reopen during Korean MERS outbreak
