Eleven newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday, in yet another cluster infections reported at the country's largest training camp for new recruits.
The soldiers at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after one of them first developed symptoms starting Monday, according to the ministry.
The soldier who first showed symptoms joined the camp on July 28, and had tested negative in two virus tests conducted upon enlistment.
The number of infections could further rise as contact tracing is still under way.
The infections came just about a month after the training center suffered another mass outbreak that has resulted in 123 cases since the first infection was reported in early July.
Separately, a soldier and a military civilian employee, both based in Paju, north of Seoul, an Army cadet in the southeastern city of Yeongcheon, and a national cemetery worker in Seoul were found to have been infected with virus, raising the total number of infections reported among the military population to 1,570.
Nationwide, South Korea reported 1,805 new cases Wednesday, bringing the total caseload to 228,657. (Yonhap)
