One more service member tests positive for coronavirus, total at 37
A soldier sits on atop a military vehicle for quarantine work at a screening facility for coronavirus patients at a hospital amid the rise in confirmed cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Daegu, Korea, March 8, 2020. Reuters
One Air Force officer stationed in the southeastern city of Daegu tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the military to 37 on Tuesday, the defense ministry said.
Of the total, 20 were in the Army, 13 in the Air Force, two in the Marine Corps and one each in the Navy and a unit under the direct control of the ministry, according to the defense ministry.
Thirty-two patients are active-duty service members and the remaining five are civilians working for the military, it added.
As a preventive step, around 2,560 service members are quarantined at their bases. Of them, around 280 have either shown symptoms or had direct contact with infected patients, while the remainder recently visited Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province or other virus-hit foreign nations, including China.
As of Tuesday, South Korea had 7,513 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 54 deaths. More than 90 percent of the total cases, or 6,780 patients, occurred in Daegu and North Gyeongsang, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). (Yonhap)