Seoul, July 28

South Korea today declared the effective end to a deadly outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome that killed 36 people, triggered widespread panic and stymied growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

Addressing a meeting of government officials in Seoul, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn said the danger posed by what was the biggest outbreak of the virus outside Saudi Arabia was over.

"After weighing various circumstances, the medical personnel and the government judge that the people can now be free from worry," Hwang said.

"I ask the public to shake off all concerns about MERS and to resume normal daily activities, including economic, cultural, leisure and school activities," he added.

Thousands of schools were closed at the peak of the outbreak, as anxious parents kept their children home. The outbreak took a heavy toll on the national economy, stifling consumer spending and devastating the tourist sector.

Local businesses including shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas reported a sharp drop in sales as people shunned public venues with large crowds.

The virus is considered a deadlier but less infectious cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds of people when it appeared in Asia in 2003. The government introduced sweeping quarantine measures that saw nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes.