All Soldiers' Leave Suspended for Two Weeks Starting Tomorrow

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] From the 19th, all soldiers' leaves will be suspended for two weeks. This measure is due to the renewed spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

A military official explained to reporters on the 18th, "Considering the nationwide spread of the infection, the existing Level 2 social distancing measures applied in the metropolitan area and Busan will be expanded to all units from the 19th to the 31st."

During this period, visits to entertainment facilities, jjimjilbangs, PC rooms, and the like are prohibited. Company dinners and private gatherings must also be postponed or canceled.

Religious activities are limited to soldiers only within on-base facilities. Military families residing off-base will switch to online worship services, the military official explained.

Additionally, all military religious facilities located off-base will also switch to online worship services for the time being.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of National Defense, as of this day, two additional COVID-19 cases were confirmed: one soldier from the Gapyeong Army unit and one civilian employee belonging to the North Korea Intelligence unit.

It was confirmed that a member of the Seongbuk-gu Sarang Jeil Church, who tested positive on the 14th, had accessed the Gapyeong unit base. Subsequently, during the close contact testing process, two people were already confirmed positive.

About 1,500 people from the unit are undergoing COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, so the possibility of additional confirmed cases cannot be ruled out.

The civilian employee of the North Korea Intelligence unit showed fever symptoms from the night of the 14th and tested positive after examination. Authorities are conducting epidemiological investigations, including testing about 80 close contacts and identifying the infection route.

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