Published : Dec. 31, 2020 - 11:10
An Army officer checks the protective gear of a cadet of the Korea Armed Forces Nursing Academy in the central city of Daejeon, as she is mobilized for the academy's operation to help fight against COVID-19, in this undated photo provided by the defense ministry on Dec. 18, 2020. (Ministry of Defense)
An Army officer and two civilian workers for the military tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday.
The Army officer stationed in the city of Incheon, west of Seoul, contracted the virus after coming into contact with a citizen confirmed later to have the virus, according to the ministry.
One civilian officer working at an Army base in the southeastern city of Daegu and the other worker for the Navy tested positive after taking tests as a preventive step, the ministry added.
The latest cases brought the total number of COVID-19 patients among military members to 505.
Currently, 721 service members are in isolation in accordance with the health authorities' guidelines, and the military has quarantined an additional 4,388 people under stricter antivirus schemes of its own as a preventive step, according to the ministry.
The military has seen a marked growth in the number of confirmed cases among its members since mid-November when South Korea began experiencing another wave of the pandemic.
Nationwide, the country added 967 more COVID-19 cases, including 940 locally transmitted infections, on Thursday, bringing the total caseload to 60,740, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). (Yonhap)