South Korea said Tuesday it is closely monitoring the global response to the MERS outbreak as Hong Kong issued a travel alert for the country following its seventh death from the virus.
  

As of Tuesday morning, the death toll from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome rose to seven while the number of confirmed patients climbed to 95.
  

The Foreign Ministry said it will review the travel alerts and safety notices issued by other countries and provide accurate information on the extent of MERS here.
  

The remark by ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il came hours after Hong Kong issued a red Outbound Travel Alert on South Korea, the middle of a three-color alert system.
  

Hong Kong authorities also advised citizens to refrain from making unnecessary visits to South Korea amid reports that up to 12,000 Hong Kong tourists may have been affected by the outbreak of the viral disease.
  

"We will inform foreign governments of the exact situation without making adjustments, and I believe our situation will be better known once the results of our joint investigation with the World Health Organization are announced," Noh said during a press briefing. "WHO has not been recommending a travel restriction on our country with regard to the MERS outbreak."
  

Meanwhile, the ministry has begun preparations to open a call center to answer foreign residents' inquiries about MERS, Noh said.
  

The call center was one of the requests made by foreign diplomats based here during a special briefing for them on Monday by the government.
  

The spokesman also played down a travel notice issued last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying South Korea is among 30 countries that have been placed under Watch-Level 1, the lowest of a three-level notice system.
  

Japan, Germany and Australia are among the other nations.
  

The notice is separate from travel alerts issued by the U.S. State Department, he added. (Yonhap)