Nineteen South Koreans who worked alongside a man recently discovered to have contracted MERS have been given medical checkups in Kuwait, with test results due on Wednesday.

A Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said Tuesday that Kuwaiti health authorities are analyzing samples taken from the 19 South Koreans who came in contact with the diagnosed patient. 

The official said that local doctors examined 12 other workers and found no abnormal signs, while another South Korean who was hospitalized in Kuwait after showing possible symptoms of MERS has been given the all clear.

On Saturday, the 61-year-old man was diagnosed with the infectious disease after returning from a business trip to Kuwait from August 16th to September sixth.