AFP, SEOUL: South Korea yesterday confirmed nine more cases of the MERS virus, which has killed four people, but said it did not represent a spread of the outbreak as the infected were already in quarantine. The additional cases brought the total number of people infected with the virus to 50. The new cases were part of a group of 1,660 quarantined after they came into contact with people infected with the disease prior to the first case being diagnosed on May 20, the health ministry said. "The nine people contracted the virus (in three different) hospitals and there is no evidence to suggest any transmissions in communities outside hospital settings," it said in a press statement. Kwon Joon-Wook, a senior ministry official, told reporters Saturday that the 68-year-old man who was the first case, and his wife who contracted the virus from him, have both been cured and were released from hospital on Friday. Two others were also waiting to be released, he said.