Military reports 4 new coronavirus cases

Published : May 17, 2021 - 11:37 Updated : May 17, 2021 - 11:37

In this file photo taken on March 12, 2021, a service member receives a coronavirus test at a makeshift clinic set up near Seoul Station. (Yonhap)

Three Army soldiers and an airman have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Monday.

The three soldiers based in Yangju, just north of Seoul, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine after a virus case was reported at their base, according to the ministry.

The airman, based in the eastern city of Gangneung, was found to be infected while away from his base on vacation.

An Army unit in the border county of Cheorwon where 27 service members have tested positive in cluster infections reported no additional case so far.

"We have shut down the base and completed putting those who had contact with the confirmed patients into isolation," ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan said during a regular press briefing. "We will take follow-up measures once the epidemiological survey is wrapped up."

Boo said the ministry has no plans to tighten its restriction on troops' vacationing as of now.

The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 890.

Nationwide, South Korea added 619 new cases Monday, bringing the total caseload to 132,290. (Yonhap)