682 USFK Members Confirmed COVID-19 Positive in One Week

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases within the US Forces Korea (USFK) has exceeded 600 in just one week. This breaks the previous record of 467 cases, the largest since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

On the 7th, the USFK headquarters reported that from the 28th of last month to the 3rd of this month, COVID-19 cases within USFK surged by 682. Among them, 681 were personnel related to bases in Korea, and only one case was imported from overseas. As of the 3rd, the cumulative number of confirmed cases related to USFK stands at 3,027.

The vaccination rate within US military bases is close to 90%. This is why many of the new confirmed cases are presumed to be breakthrough infections.

The problem is that USFK is not disclosing accurate statistics. This contrasts with our military, which announces daily updates on new confirmed cases and breakthrough infection status. In Pyeongtaek, the number of cases has remained in the 200s for two consecutive days since the 5th, and triple-digit cases have continued for 10 days since the 29th of last month.

Peter Lee, spokesperson for USFK, said in response to a recent large-scale outbreak inquiry from Voice of America (VOA), "We are analyzing the risk posed by COVID-19 cases within the bases and taking measures to maintain a 'fight tonight' readiness posture to be able to respond immediately."

Regarding whether the surge in cases within USFK bases is related to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Korea, he told VOA that USFK "maintains professional relationships with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), local governments, media, by providing open and transparent information."

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in instructed on the same day to strengthen quarantine measures for residents near USFK bases and businesses frequented by USFK personnel, following the occurrence of multiple COVID-19 cases at USFK bases.

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