3 service members test positive for COVID-19

Published : Mar 12, 2021 - 11:32 Updated : Mar 12, 2021 - 11:32

In this file photo, COVID-19 tests are carried out at a drive-thru testing station at the defense ministry in Seoul on Feb. 16, 2021, as the first case at the Joint Chiefs of Staff was reported earlier in the day. (Yonhap)

Two military officers and a draftee tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of confirmed cases at barracks across the country, the defense ministry said Friday.

One Army officer stationed in the central city of Sejong was confirmed to have been infected in a test required to exit quarantine. He has been in isolation after coming into contact with a colleague who earlier tested positive, according to the ministry.

The Sejong unit has reported nine COVID-19 cases until now.

The other officer in Seongnam, south of Seoul, tested positive after showing symptoms, and the enlistee in the border town of Yeoncheon underwent a test and tested positive while on vacation, it added.

As for a civilian worker at the Army convention center inside the defense ministry complex in Yongsan, central Seoul, the ministry said that contact tracing and virus tests are still under way.

The civilian tested positive Thursday, and last visited her workplace Sunday.

"So far, around 50 people have tested negative, and seven are awaiting their test results. We will continue to take necessary steps," a ministry official said.

Up until now, the military has reported 617 COVID-19 cases among its members, and 580 have been fully cured, with 37 undergoing treatment, it added.

Nationwide, the country reported 488 more COVID-19 cases, including 467 local infections, raising the total caseload to 94,686, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. (Yonhap)