The delay comes as the number of confirmed cases in South Korea has surged to 108 since the first case confirmed on May 20th. Nine people have died.

South Korean deputy Health Care Minister Kwon Deok-cheol advises the public to avoid leaving the country if they have had close contact with infected patients.

"We urge those who came into close contact with the infected, not to leave the country. This (them leaving the country) happens voluntarily most of the time. Therefore we (Health Ministry) have obtained the list of those people and have given it to the Justice Ministry. However, there have been some people who were not included in the list, leading to such cases. Such cases can cause problems to our national status and inflict harm on global security."

Multiple local media have reported that a South Korean doctor couple visited the Philippines from Saturday to Sunday, despite the fact that they had close contact with a MERS infectee and were put under self-quarantine.