China's civil aviation regulator ordered Friday all of its airlines to sterilize their planes flying from South Korea, in a stepped-up measure to alleviate passengers' concern over the outbreak of MERS in South Korea.
  

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Administration of China also required airlines operating flights between South Korea and China to "quickly treat suspected cases of MERS."
  

Since South Korea reported its first Middle East Respiratory Syndrome case on May 20, a total of 126 people have been infected with the virus and 11 people with severe ailments before being infected with MERS died from the virus.
  

MERS is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, according to the World Health Organization. (Yonhap)