The government says it will drop its Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS) alert to the lowest level of "blue" from "yellow" after no new cases have been reported in the past two weeks.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that all 21 people who had come in close contact with a South Korean man who was diagnosed with MERS 14 days ago, have tested negative for the virus in the second round of evaluations.
With the results, from 12 a.m. Saturday, the MERS alert level will be adjusted downward and the 21 people will be released from quarantine.
Two-hundred-96 people who came into ordinary contact with patient zero will also no longer be obligated to report their health conditions every day to officials.
Nevertheless, the government will keep operating a MERS task force around-the-clock until October 16th when the maximum incubation period will have doubled. The government is likely to officially announce on that day an end to the latest MERS scare.