COVID-19 Navy Soldier Fully Recovered... Zero In-Hospital Military Patients After 74 Days (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] With all confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) within the military fully recovered, the number of patients undergoing treatment in the military has dropped to zero for the first time in 74 days since the first confirmed case occurred.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 6th, "Yesterday (the 5th), one confirmed COVID-19 patient in the military was declared fully recovered and discharged," adding, "Currently, there are zero confirmed cases under management." The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the military stands at 39.

The last recovered patient was Corporal A of the Jeju Naval Unit, who was the first in the military to be confirmed with COVID-19. After returning from leave in Daegu, he was diagnosed positive on February 21. He was declared recovered and discharged on March 23 but tested positive again on March 31 of the same month.

Corporal A has been in isolation for 77 days since testing positive on February 20, including preventive quarantine, and remains quarantined for two weeks even after recovery. In terms of isolation duration, this is longer than Patient No. 31 in Korea, who was hospitalized for 67 days.

The cumulative confirmed cases by military branch are: Army 21, Navy 1, Marine Corps 2, Air Force 14, and 1 in the Ministry of National Defense direct units.

According to health authorities, there is 1 person in quarantine, and under the military's own standards, 1,063 people are under preventive quarantine.

The Ministry of National Defense explained, "Thorough quarantine, disinfection, and preventive quarantine measures were strongly implemented, which played a key role in preventing the spread of COVID-19 within the military," adding, "In particular, the use of mobile phones greatly helped relieve stress among soldiers whose outings were restricted."

Within the military, 67% of all confirmed cases (26 out of 39) were diagnosed within the first seven days after the initial confirmed case.

As the military actively worked to block the spread of COVID-19, the increase in confirmed cases slowed down after February 28. The military completely restricted all soldiers from going out, overnight stays, and leave starting February 22, and allowed outings again from the 24th of last month, two months later.

Since no additional confirmed cases have emerged within the military and the government has shifted guidelines to "distancing in daily life," the military will resume normal leave for soldiers starting on the 8th.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated, "We will continue distancing in daily life and do our best to completely overcome COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.