South Korea to track mobile phones to enforce Mers virus quarantine rules

South Korean authorities will track the mobile phones of hundreds of people under quarantine to prevent the spread of the deadly Mers virus as a sixth person died in the outbreak and the number of infections rose to 87. An 80-year-old man, who tested positive for the virus last week while being treated for pneumonia, died on Monday and became the country’s sixth death linked to Mers, according to a statement from the health ministry. The government, criticised over its lack of transparency in handling the outbreak, bowed to public pressure on Sunday and identified 24 health facilities where infections took place or patients with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome visited. It reported 14 confirmed new cases of Mers, adding to the largest number outside the Middle East. “Please understand this is an unavoidable measure for the sake of our neighbours and families,” the deputy prime minister, Choi Kyung-hwan, told a news briefing in the...