Seo Wook "Strengthening Preemptive COVID-19 Testing in Vulnerable Facilities"

On the 23rd, Defense Minister Seo Wook stated, "Strengthen proactive COVID-19 testing at vulnerable facilities such as Guard Posts (GP), General Outposts (GOP), naval vessels, and control battalions."
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 23rd, Defense Minister Seo Wook announced, "Strengthen preemptive testing for COVID-19 at vulnerable facilities such as Guard Posts (GP), General Outposts (GOP), naval vessels, and control battalions."

The Ministry of National Defense reported that Minister Seo gave these instructions while presiding over an emergency key commanders' meeting to block the 4th wave of COVID-19 at the Army Cadet Central Military Academy that morning.

Minister Seo also expressed deep regret over the recent poor meal support and living conditions for isolated soldiers, urging commanders of each unit to personally inspect isolation facilities and meal plans. He added, "Prepare meticulously from the planning stage under the leadership of commanders to ensure that the nationwide vaccination scheduled for early May proceeds systematically."

Following a cluster infection of 32 personnel on a naval vessel, the meeting, urgently convened before the commissioning ceremony for medical and veterinary officers, was attended by the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as the Commander of the Medical Command.

That morning, the Navy convened an emergency commanders' meeting led by Chief of Staff Bu Seok-jong and raised the military's social distancing level to 2.5 for all vessels and major units in Busan, Jinhae, Pyeongtaek, Donghae, Mokpo, Incheon, Jeju, and Pohang for two weeks.

Accordingly, except for pre-discharge leave or some petition leave, all leaves and outings for personnel on the affected vessels and units are temporarily suspended, and private gatherings and dinners among officers must be postponed or canceled. Additionally, PCR tests are being conducted for all crew members of the vessels, and crew members are, in principle, required to remain on board until they receive a negative test result.

Furthermore, it is reported that one officer aboard another naval vessel received notification of a family member's positive diagnosis and is currently returning to base while on duty.

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