No. of new flu patients in S. Korea reaches 827

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- The number of those in South Korea infected with the
rapidly spreading H1N1 influenza has reached 827, the health ministry said
Sunday.
Over Saturday through Sunday, 39 new patients, including 11 people from an
elementary school in Gyeonggi Province, south of the country's capital Seoul, and
six from a Busan elementary school, tested positive for the new flu virus after
showing flu-like symptoms, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs
said.
As of Sunday morning, a total of 173 people remain in isolation for treatment,
with the other confirmed patients having been discharged from hospitals as they
showed no further flu symptoms.
South Korea has been relatively insulated from the global pandemic, which has
claimed hundreds of lives since the disease was first identified in April.
No deaths have been reported here but concerns are growing that the disease may
become more widespread as the number of reported infections is rising fast.
The ministry has therefore determined it is meaningless to track the number of
infected people.
In a precautionary move, the government earlier said it has set aside 174.8
billion won (US$134.4 million) to secure enough vaccines to inoculate around 27
percent of the nation's population against the flu virus. The vaccines will be
available beginning in November, ahead of the winter flu season, it added.
The World Health Organization has said that the H1N1 virus is the fastest-moving
pandemic ever and that it is now pointless to count every case, according to
reports.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)