Additional COVID-19 Cases Confirmed in Army 8th Division

On the 8th, when the military leave that had been restricted to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was resumed normally, soldiers departing on leave were waiting for the train at Seoul Station. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] One additional confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported each at the 8th Division in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, and the Military Security Support Command, where cluster infections occurred.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 4th, one soldier at Unit A of the 8th Division in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, which was visited by a civilian career counseling instructor suspected to be the COVID-19 transmitter, was belatedly confirmed positive.

This new confirmed case at Unit A follows the mass confirmation of 14 soldiers at Unit B, which the instructor had visited last month. The confirmed soldier at Unit A was classified as a close contact of the civilian instructor and was in solitary quarantine, so contact with other soldiers was limited, a military official said. The initial test before quarantine was negative, but the test for release from quarantine came back positive.

As a result, 19 soldiers have been infected with COVID-19 across two units visited by the instructor and three nearby units. The three nearby units are presumed to have had contact with 'confirmed soldiers' at a church within the garrison. One officer working at the main office of the Security Command in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, was also confirmed positive for COVID-19. Previously, five people at the Security Command main office were infected but have since recovered.

The officer is presumed to have been infected after visiting a restaurant in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, where a confirmed case had been, and an epidemiological investigation is underway. The Security Command completed building disinfection and sterilization work that morning and is conducting PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests on all main office personnel.

As of 10 a.m. that day, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the military rose to 79 (58 recovered). According to health authorities, 466 people are in quarantine within the military, and according to military standards, 1,673 are in preventive quarantine.

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