South Korea has confirmed the fifth death from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) while announcing more moves to combat the growing health crises.

The government has said more than 1,800 schools will remain closed for at least several days, including some 1,200 in Gyeonggi province outside of the capital Seoul where the outbreak began.

More than 2,300 people have been placed in quarantine, with 87 confirmed cases, making the current outbreak the biggest ever outside the Middle East.

Caused by the coronavirus, MERS -- which can bring on fever, breathing issues, pneumonia and failure of the kidneys -- was first identified in humans in 2012 in Saudi Arabia.

Officials in South Korea tried to allay public fears, with Acting Prime Minister Choi Kyung Hwan saying people should avoid overreacting.

The outbreak is a "controllable one," he said in a briefing.

"The government will take all preemptive measures necessary to minimize any negative impact on the economy."

South Korea's fifth death was a 75-year-old man, and MERS was confirmed in an autopsy after his death, officials said.

Worldwide, MERS has infected more than 1,000 people. Of the reported 400 or so deaths, most have been in the Middle East.

Currently there is no vaccine or cure for the viral disease. Because the virus was only recently discovered, its exact method of transmission is not yet understood, doctors and scientists acknowledge; although it appears to require close contact with someone with MERS, such a living with them or caring for them directly.

The virus that causes MERS is in the same viral family that causes the common cold and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS.)

After one person who was quarantined broke the quarantine and traveled to southern China where he ended up in a hospital with MERS symptoms, officials said they would begin keeping tabs on some people who were quarantined by tracking them through their cellphones.

Seoul chief of police Kang Shin-myun said his department would enforce quarantine orders for those suspected of being infected with MERS.

"We will deal strongly with anyone who escalates unnecessary sense of public uneasiness," he said.

Retail stores in the country have reported heavy sales of hand sanitizers and gauze facemasks.

Officials announced that experts from the World Health Organization would be arriving in South Korea in the coming days to help organize responses to the outbreak.