Korea`s 1st Swine Flu Case Leaves Hospital

A 51-year-old nun, Korea’s first confirmed case of Influenza A (H1N1), was released from the hospital at noon yesterday as health authorities lifted her quarantine order.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control said, “She will be exempt from quarantine, injection of antiviral medication and observation, and will be free.”

“The risk of the new influenza is on the decrease,” the health watchdog said, adding the nun recovered and was released from the hospital.

The number of suspected cases of the flu has significantly dropped, with no suspected cases reported between 5 p.m. Sunday through midnight yesterday. Moreover, 18 of the 28 suspected cases turned out negative, and so the government is likely to downgrade the alert stage from “warning” to “attention.”

The spread of the new influenza is subsiding in the United States and Mexico, while the number of additional infected cases in Europe has shot up.

Spain has reported 44 cases, including 29 added Sunday. The World Health Organization confirmed 985 cases in 20 countries yesterday.

corekim@donga.com changkim@donga.com