Another USFK employee in Daegu tests positive for virus, total at 9
Camp Walker in Daegu / Korea Times file
A South Korean employee of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) stationed in the southeastern city of Daegu has tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of USFK-related infection cases to nine, the military said Tuesday.
The patient, who works at Camp Walker, is now in isolation at her off-base residence, USFK said, adding that authorities are "actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed."
Daegu, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been the heart of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak, with the number of patients in the city skyrocketing due to a cluster of infections centered on the Shincheonji religious sect.
USFK remains at risk level "high" peninsula-wide and is implementing all appropriate control measures to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 to protect the force, it said.
Amid mounting concerns over the new coronavirus, the U.S. Department of the Army has ordered its soldiers and their families to stop movement to and from South Korea until early May. (Yonhap)