All New Enlistees to Undergo COVID-19 Testing Starting Today

It is the result of actively blocking those unfit for service before enlistment through psychological tests by the Military Manpower Administration from the enlistment stage, increasing professional personnel, improving psychological testing tools, and revising the Military Service Physical Examination Regulations.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] The Ministry of National Defense will conduct COVID-19 tests on all new military recruits starting from the 18th.

The Ministry announced that specimens will be collected from all recruits entering each military training center and basic training unit, targeting about 6,300 individuals weekly for eight weeks.

The military will collect specimens at the training centers, while private companies contracted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency will handle specimen transportation and testing. To facilitate rapid testing of large numbers, the pooling method will be utilized. If a recruit tests positive within one week after admission, they will be sent home; if confirmed positive after more than a week, they will receive treatment as a member of the military.

The military had previously implemented preventive quarantine and testing for recruits entering from areas with confirmed cases or who had overlapping movement paths with confirmed patients. So far, 83 recruits who reported visiting the Itaewon area have undergone COVID-19 testing, all of whom tested negative.

A military official explained, "COVID-19 infections among people in their 20s have increased due to places like Itaewon clubs. Since recruits live in group settings, if a recruit tests positive late, it could lead to a cluster infection, so we are proactively testing all recruits."

Earlier, on the 13th of last month, three recruits who entered the Army Training Center were confirmed positive for COVID-19 and were sent home.

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