CRI听力:Number of Contacts with 1st MERS Patient in China Rises to 61

Provincial health authorities in Guangdong say the number of contacts with the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in China has risen to 61.

Most of them are now under medical observation.

The patient, a South Korean national, is still under quarantine and receiving treatment at a hospital in city of Huizhou in Guangdong.

Authorities say he has a fever, but is otherwise in stable condition.

In Hong Kong, the two Korean nationals who previously refused to go into quarantine after having close contact with the MERS patient are now under observation.

A total of 18 passengers sitting next to the MERS patient on his flight when he passed through Hong Kong have been put into quarantine.

Ding Yiming is a CRI correspondent in Hong Kong.

"The 18 passengers are under quarantine at Lady MacLehose Holiday Villagein. As of this morning they are in stable condition. Meanwhile, health authorities in Hong Kong have tracked people who didn't have close contact with the patient, and 17 of them are also under medical observation to watch for any sign of symptoms."

Meanwhile, authorities in Macau say a South Korean national who had close contact with the patient also stayed in Macau for several hours.

That man is also in isolation.

Authorities in Macau have begun monitoring the temperatures of flight passengers from Korea and the Middle East as a precaution.

One suspected case of MERS is also being reported in Taiwan.