Five new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS were confirmed in South Korea, making the total number of confirmed cases reach up to thirty five, according to authorities dated Thursday.

Two among the new infected cases reportedly include two health care workers who visited a ward where the first person infected patient in South Korea was admitted. The other one was a person who shared a room with an infected patient at a hospital, said the country's health ministry.

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Since the outbreak began in South Korea two weeks ago, two people have died. In the Osan Air Base, a chief master sergeant had been confirmed positive for first test of the virus, but final results are still unknown, according to The Hindu.

As a result of the first test, 100 soldiers at the base containing South Korean and U.S troops, 100 soldiers were isolated. 1,600 people have been quarantined since the outbreak began. Most of the people who were quarantined are either in their homes or in hospitals, according to a health ministry official.

On Thursday, widespread alarm broke out over the country since the spread of the virus appeared unstoppable. Hundreds of schools have already closed.

President Park Geun-hye of South Korea demanded for authorities to do everything they can to stop the outbreak.

"We are in a war," claimed a Gangnam district's health centre official. Gangnam is Seoul's wealthiest district.

Early Thursday, panic spread in the district as medical workers near a hotel were spotted wearing protection suits.

North Korea has called for border checks and has asked the South to offer heat-detecting cameras for the monitoring of temperatures of South Korean workers who travel to Kaesong Industrial Complex which is north of the border, a South Korean government official said.

Authorities in South Korean were criticized for their slow response in the recent MERS outbreak, which began after a South Korean man went on four business trips to the Middle East and went back home to the country.

In China, the first case of MERS was reported last week. A South Korean man tested positive for the virus, but he broke rules of his voluntary house quarantine to travel to Hong Kong then to mainland China, reported Reuters.

In Malaysia, The Ministry of Health has announced its active participation in preventing the MERS outbreak, according to The Sun Daily.

There will be multiple level screenings at the coutry's international arrival areas. There will also be distribution of health warning cards to foreign tourists, according to Director-General of Health Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah from the ministry.

MERS is part of the family of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS virus. It was not known to spread quickly among humans until now. SARS started in Asia in 2003, infecting thousands and killing around 800 worldwide.

Tags35 MERS cases south korea, MERS, Coronavirus, SARS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Malaysia, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome