Defense Minister Suh Wook (R) visits the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan on Friday, in this photo provided by the ministry. A total of 77 newly enlisted soldiers at the boot camp tested positive for the coronavirus this week. (Ministry of Defense)
Seven newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections recently reported at the base to 95, the defense ministry said Tuesday.
The enlistees at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine following the mass infection outbreak at the base last week, according to the ministry.
Separately, an airman based in Seongnam, south of Seoul, tested positive before returning from a vacation, and an Army officer in Dongducheon, north of the capital, was found to be infected while in quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive earlier.
The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 1,150.
The ministry said 321,042 troops in their 20s, or 81 percent of the age group, had received their second doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine as of Monday.
Nationwide, South Korea reported 1,150 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, marking the seventh consecutive day for the daily figure to rise by more than 1,000. The country's total caseload stood at 170,296. (Yonhap)