© Reuters/Kim Hong-JiA woman wearing a mask to prevent contracting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) walks in central Seoul, South Korea, June 15, 2015.
"The money will be allocated in a timely manner to support the government's all-out effort to contain MERS," the ministry said.
The funding is to go to the state-run National Medical Center, located in Seoul, which currently serves as South Korea's central MERS treatment facility. It will also help hospitals that treat non-MERS patients which are overloaded because the outbreak has led some other hospitals to temporarily closing.
In addition, the government has promised to provide monetary compensation for people who have been kept in isolation as a result of the outbreak.
Seoul has not ruled out the possibility of dedicating additional funds to fight the disease in the future.
The first MERS case in the Asian country was confirmed on May 20. With 5,586 people currently in quarantine, the outbreak has become a real health crisis. Of the 154 people diagnosed with the virus, 19 have died.
The fatality rate of the disease is estimated at 12.3 percent by the South Korean health ministry, which is a much lower figure than the previous estimate of 40 percent.
MERS infection is more probable for people with underlying medical problems, who are also more likely to suffer severe consequences due to the disease.
Another name for the virus is "camel flu," the first known case of which was reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. The symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, but there can be more serious complications, such as pneumonia or kidney failure.
Well well...magically out of nowhere comes $45 million in Korean taxpayer money to supposedly combat the horrors of MERS with, what, a death toll of 19 to date? This should be compared with the toll for alcoholism in a country where drunkenness is close to godliness and no money goes to deal with it.