USFK Member Arriving from the US Tests Positive for COVID-19

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Two personnel related to the US Forces Korea (USFK), including a USFK soldier and a civilian contractor affiliated with the US Department of Defense, who arrived from the United States, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On the 27th, the USFK Command reported that two USFK-related personnel arrived consecutively on the 23rd and 24th. They tested positive in tests conducted immediately after arrival and were transferred to isolation treatment facilities at Camp Humphreys (US military base in Pyeongtaek) and Osan Air Base, respectively. This brings the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases related to USFK to 168, of which approximately 86%, or 144 individuals, tested positive immediately after arriving from the United States. Consequently, criticism continues that pre-departure screening for COVID-19 symptoms among soldiers is not being properly conducted before leaving the US.

The South Korean military tested 46 contacts of civilian employee A from the Cyber Operations Command within the Ministry of National Defense, who was confirmed positive the previous day, and 41 tested negative. Civilian employee A from Cyber Command and civilian worker B from the 1st Corps were confirmed positive the previous day after additional testing following their spouses’ COVID-19 diagnoses. The test results for the remaining five individuals have not yet been released. The 1st Corps Command, where the civilian worker tested positive, conducted additional tests on about 540 personnel, all of whom tested negative.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense reported that two Army soldiers from units in Hwaseong and Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, were fully recovered on the same day. As of 10 a.m. on the 27th, the cumulative number of confirmed cases within the military stands at 97, with 16 still undergoing treatment.

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