11 USFK-affiliated people test positive for COVID-19

Six US Forces Korea (USFK) service members and five other affiliated individuals tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military said Monday, the latest in a series of infections from American military bases in South Korea.

   Three of the six soldiers were from Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, and one each from Camp Carroll in the southeastern city of Daegu and the Osan and Kunsan Air Bases, according to the USFK.

   The remaining cases were one Korean service member for the Korean Augmentation to the US Army (KATUSA) stationed at the K-16 Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, and four civilian workers at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, it added.

   All of them tested positive between Wednesday and Friday, and the US military and the South Korean health authorities are conducting contact tracing, the USFK said.

   The latest cases raised the total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated population to 1,020, most of whom tested positive upon their arrival here from the US.

   The USFK has reported cluster infections in recent weeks, though it completed vaccinating more than 80 percent of its population.

   South Korea has experienced a drastic surge in new cases over the past several days. It added 1,100 new COVID-19 cases, including 1,063 local infections, raising the total caseload to 169,146, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). (Yonhap)