16 US soldiers, civilian test positive for COVID-19 in S. Korea

Sixteen more US soldiers and one civilian employee in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19, the US Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday.

The USFK said in a statement that 17 USFK-affiliated individuals were confirmed with COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between November 20 and December 4.

Five service members arrived at Osan Air Base on US government-chartered flights from the United States on November 23 and December 2. The Osan Air Base is located in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul.

Eleven service members and one US Department of Defense civilian arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on international commercial flights on November 20, 21, 23 and December 1, 2, and 4.

The confirmed patients have been transferred to designated isolation facilities at the US Army Garrison Humphreys and the Osan Air Base, both of which are located in Pyeongtaek.

The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 408, according to Yonhap news agency.

The COVID-19 resurged here for the past month. In the latest tally, South Korea reported 615 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, raising the total number of infections to 38,161.

The daily caseload hovered above 600 for two straight days, growing in triple digits for 30 days since November 8.

"Despite the recent confirmed cases, USFK remains at a high level of readiness with less than 1 percent of its active-duty service members currently confirmed positive with COVID-19," the USFK said.