Army Mobilizes for Disinfection at Church Visited by COVID-19 Confirmed Case... "Not Unpleasant, Right?"

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Claims have been raised that soldiers were mobilized to carry out disinfection work at a church visited by a confirmed COVID-19 patient without being equipped with professional equipment.

According to a post on the Facebook community 'Delivering Army Training Center News' on the 6th, the Army's 7th Artillery Brigade ordered soldiers to disinfect the church visited by the confirmed patient while only wearing masks and without professional equipment. The soldiers reportedly conducted the disinfection work wearing only regular masks without any specialized gear.

The informant who posted on the community stated, "(The unit) announced on the 1st that a list of 20 personnel who would go to the church for the work was finalized and asked to confirm it," adding, "When we went to disinfect, we relied on vinyl gloves and masks, carrying a sprayer filled with bleach and a hand cloth to clean the church visited by the confirmed patient."

He pointed out, "About an hour into the work, the battalion commander came to the church and instead of words of encouragement, said, 'You don't mind coming to the church on your day off to work, right?' It is problematic to conduct disinfection work in a hazardous environment with inadequate equipment."

In response, the Army explained, "On April 26, one of the personnel responsible for remodeling the 'education center,' the office space of the church in question, tested positive for COVID-19 on the 30th, and health authorities conducted an epidemiological investigation," adding, "The place visited by the confirmed patient was the church's 'education center,' not the 'sanctuary,' and the area where the soldiers conducted disinfection did not overlap with the movement paths of the confirmed construction personnel."

The Army further stated, "We sincerely apologize for causing misunderstandings by conducting disinfection activities without prior smooth communication and sufficient explanation regarding safety to the soldiers," and added, "We plan to conduct PCR (genetic) tests and take additional measures for those who participated in the disinfection activities and wish to be tested."

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