Army conscripts released after testing positive for COVID-19

Two Army conscripts from Daegu who are followers of the Shincheonji Church are to be released from military training after testing positive for COVID-19, the Army said Saturday.

Two days earlier, another conscript who lived in South Gyeongsang Province near Daegu, also a follower of the sect, tested positive for the virus and was sent to a hospital for treatment.

The three men enlisted Monday at a boot camp in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province. About 130 trainees believed to have come into contact with the infected soldiers tested negative for COVID-19.

The Army said it would continue to disinfect facilities at the camp and that it planned to go ahead with training as scheduled. South Korea’s military has so far reported 39 infections and 36 recovered patients, with 1,350 military members still in quarantine.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)