US Military Reports First Coronavirus Case

Soldier is in self-quarantine on S. Korea base
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 26, 2020 12:35 AM CST
First US Soldier Infected With Coronavirus
A worker wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant at a market in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2020.   (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The number of new coronavirus infections in South Korea jumped again Wednesday and the US military reported its first case among its soldiers based in the Asian country, with his case and many others connected to a southeastern city with an illness cluster. A US military statement said the 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. He had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu, and visited both Carroll and nearby Camp Walker in recent days, according to the statement. South Korean authorities and US. military health professionals are tracing his contacts to determine if other people may have been exposed, the AP reports. About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea.

South Korea’s 600,000-member military has reported 18 cases and placed thousands of soldiers in quarantine as a precaution. South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 134 of the 169 new cases were confirmed in Daegu, where the government has been mobilizing public health tools to contain the virus. South Korea now has 1,146 confirmed infections of the virus and 11 fatalities from the COVID-19 illness it causes. Col. Edward Ballanco, commander of the US Army Garrison Daegu, said two bowling alleys at Camp Walker and Camp Carroll and a golf course at Camp Walker were closed after the soldier's case was confirmed. All restaurants at the bases, and also Camp Henry and Camp George in Daegu, can now provide only takeout meals, he said.

(More coronavirus stories.)

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