Out of 32 MERS-related deaths, 29, or 90.6 percent, involved people of old age or those with existing health conditions, such as diabetes or cancer, that were apparently worsened by MERS.

With the latest MERS death, the fatality rate of the disease in the country climbed to 17.6 percent, still lower than the over 40 percent tallied globally until the outbreak here.

Out of the 182 people diagnosed with the disease so far, 59 still remained hospitalized with 15 of them currently in unstable conditions, the ministry said.

So far 91 people previously diagnosed with MERS have been discharged from the hospital following complete recoveries.

Since the country confirmed its first or index case on May 20, over 15,500 other people have been subject to isolation for possible infection after coming in close contact with MERS patients.

As of Sunday, 2,562 people still remained in isolation, mostly at their own homes, as suspected cases, according to the ministry.

The number slightly increased from 2,467 on the previous day.

MERS is a viral respiratory disease first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. There currently exists no vaccine or treatment for the disease, apparently one of reasons for such a high fatality rate of the disease, at least until the outbreak here.

In South Korea, hospitals have been a major, if not the only, source of infection with two possible exceptions involving an ambulance driver and a paramedic who helped transport MERS patients.

Some 90 hospitals have been affected by the disease with some of them having to shut down parts or most of their operations temporarily.

A list of the MERS-affected hospitals is daily updated and available at the Health Ministry's Web site at www.mw.go.kr.

While hospitals have been blamed as a major source of infection, the country's tradition of family members staying with their loved ones in hospital rooms has been pointed out, also by the World Health Organization, as a major factor driving the outcome here.

Most of the 182 diagnosed with MERS are either friends or family members of those diagnosed earlier or those who had shared the same hospital rooms with MERS patients. (Yonhap)