South Korean hospitals suspend services as MERS outbreak spreads
Seoul (AFP) - Two major hospitals in South Korea's capital suspended services to patients on Wednesday in a bid to stop the spread of MERS after four new cases of the deadly virus were reported.
The new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome included two who were in the same hospital ward as other patients with the potentially deadly virus, Seoul's health ministry said.
The others were a nurse at Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul -- one of the epicentres of the outbreak -- and a relative of a patient who was hospitalised for an unspecified disease in a hospital in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, in early June.
Out of 179 people confirmed to have caught MERS, five were infected through unknown transmission routes outside hospitals, which have until now been at the epicentre of the outbreak, the ministry said.
A total of 27 people have died in South Korea's MERS outbreak -- the largest outside Saudi Arabia -- while about 3,100 people were being held under quarantine at state facilities or at home.
Samsung hospital, where nearly 90 patients, visitors and medical staff have contracted the virus, declared a 10-day suspension of most services on June 14 to stem the spread of the virus.
But as the number of new infections has continued to grow, authorities have decided to extend the partial shutdown "indefinitely".
The outbreak at the hospital, which belongs to South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung group, prompted heir apparent Jay. Y. Lee to publicly apologise for "causing great pain and concern" on Tuesday.
Another major Seoul hospital, Konkuk University Medical Centre, on Wednesday also stopped admitting new patients and performing surgery after four cases were reported in recent days.
- 'Impact is weakening' -
Almost all infections so far have taken place in hospitals and the World Health Organization said it had found no evidence suggesting transmission of the virus outside hospital.
Sixteen patients were in critical condition as of Wednesday, the ministry said, while 67 people have recovered and been released from hospital.
South Korea's MERS outbreak began on May 20 when a 68-year-old man was diagnosed after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia.
The virus since then has spread at an unusually rapid pace, sparking alarm in the Asia's fourth-largest economy and elsewhere in the region.
The outbreak dealt a severe blow to businesses from tourism to retail as people have shunned crowded venues and more than 120,000 foreigners cancelled planned trips to Seoul.
South Korea's central bank cut its key interest rate this month in a bid to counter the economic impact of the outbreak, but its chief on Wednesday said it was already starting to fade.
"The extent of the fall has declined from the first and second week of the outbreak, which is why we are hoping the impact is weakening," he said in comments carried by the Yonhap news agency.
There is no known vaccine for MERS, which has infected more than 1,330 people -- mostly in Saudi Arabia -- in 26 countries since first reported in 2012, according to the WHO.
I know it is past, did anyone get any effects?
GEOMAGNETIC STORM IN PROGRESS: A mild G1-class geomagnetic storm is in progress on June 22nd after one of a series of expected CMEs hit Earth's magnetic field. Another CME impact may be in the offing, so the storm could intensify in the hours ahead.
FULL HALO CME, STORM WARNING: A coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading directly for Earth. It left the sun during the early hours of June 21st, and is expected to sweep up one or two lesser CMEs already en route, before it reaches Earth sometime on June 22nd. Click to view a movie of the "full-halo" CME, then scroll down for more discussion:
NOAA forecasters estimate a 90% chance of polar geomagnetic storms when the CME arrives. This doesn't mean that a major space weather event is in the offing. The storm could be mild. It all depends on how the magnetic field of the CME connects to the magnetic field of Earth at the time of impact. According to NOAA, there's only a 10% chance of nothing happening, so stay tuned.
http://spaceweather.com/
Uber may track you 24/7
The Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C., is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the growing ride service, which is considering tracking passengers through their mobile devices -- even when they're not actively using the Uber app.
"Uber will claim the right to collect personal information and detailed location data of American consumers, even when they are not using the service," EPIC said in its complaint filed Monday.
Uber explained last month in a statement how it collects information on drivers and passengers when they use the service. Uber gathers information through the user's mobile device to track location, contacts, transactions and other details. The company said it "may also collect the precise location of your device when the app is running in the foreground or background."
In order for Uber to record customer info, app users have to authorize that on their devices.
That's the detail that EPIC is concerned about -- the fact that Uber might track the location of a user and collect information even when he or she is not actively using the app.
Related: Uber says no guns or no rides
But Uber slammed EPIC as having "no basis for this complaint."
EPIC said past claims of Uber employees using its technology to track locations and other information on journalists critical of the company is cause for concern that the technology could be misused. The complaint also expressed concerns that user data could be accessed by hackers.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/23/technology/uber-ftc-complaint-tracking/index.html
Uber may track you 24/7
Uber's hot on your trail.
A privacy group has filed a complaint against Uber for its updated policy of tracking passengers and accessing their personal information."Uber will claim the right to collect personal information and detailed location data of American consumers, even when they are not using the service," EPIC said in its complaint filed Monday.
Uber explained last month in a statement how it collects information on drivers and passengers when they use the service. Uber gathers information through the user's mobile device to track location, contacts, transactions and other details. The company said it "may also collect the precise location of your device when the app is running in the foreground or background."
In order for Uber to record customer info, app users have to authorize that on their devices.
That's the detail that EPIC is concerned about -- the fact that Uber might track the location of a user and collect information even when he or she is not actively using the app.
Related: Uber says no guns or no rides
But Uber slammed EPIC as having "no basis for this complaint."
EPIC said past claims of Uber employees using its technology to track locations and other information on journalists critical of the company is cause for concern that the technology could be misused. The complaint also expressed concerns that user data could be accessed by hackers.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/23/technology/uber-ftc-complaint-tracking/index.html
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