SEOUL, Sha'ban 18, 1436, Jun 5, 2015, SPA -- Public alarm and government oversight in South Korea has stimulated overblown fear of the MERS coronavirus in South Korea, UPI reported. The 42 confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Asia's fourth-largest economy has placed South Korea's health authorities on high alert. As of Friday, 1,800 people were placed in self-isolation, according to South Korean television network KBS, and the epidemic has claimed four lives. South Korea's Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said the camels tested negative for MERS and were released from quarantine on Friday, just in time for the weekend. Major public events planned at the zoo, however, have either been canceled or postponed. --SPA 22:58 LOCAL TIME 19:58 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w