Seoul, Sha'ban 22, 1436, June 09, 2015, SPA -- The Republic of Korea is engaged in an "all-out" effort to eliminate Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the government was reported as saying Tuesday, as the death toll from the outbreak edged higher, according to dpa. A seventh death and eight more cases of infection were reported Tuesday, nearly three weeks after the outbreak began, Yonhap News Agency reported. "This week may be very crucial to overcoming MERS," acting prime minister Choi Kyung Hwan told reporters. MERS belongs to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds in Asia in 2003. --SPA 13:39 LOCAL TIME 10:39 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w