A deadly outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) forced South Korea to cut interest rates yesterday in the hope of softening the blow to an economy already beset by slack demand, as authorities reported 14 new cases and a 10th fatality.
Worry about the disease has been reflected across the region with dozens of suspected cases being tested in Hong Kong, though none confirmed.
The 10th person to die was a 65-year-old terminal lung cancer patient whose condition deteriorated after testing positive for the MERS virus, South Korea’s health ministry said.
President Park Geun-hye has put off a trip to the United States to deal with the outbreak as the total number of cases rises daily.
The central bank of Asia’s fourth biggest economy said it had to act and cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to a record-low 1.50 percent. “We decided to cut rates today in a pre-emptive move to contain the economic fallout from MERS,” Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol told a media briefing.