▲ In this file photo, service members stand in line in front of a makeshift clinic in Seoul to undergo COVID-19 tests on April 26, 2021. (Yonhap)

military-coronavirus

9 service members test positive for COVID-19

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- Four Army officers and five soldiers tested positive for the new coronavirus, the latest in a series of infections at barracks, the defense ministry said Friday.

Of them, four soldiers were from the same unit in Hongcheon, about 100 kilometers east of Seoul, which reported nine COVID-19 cases earlier, according to the ministry.

Three officers from another unit in the country also tested positive, prompting the military and health authorities to conduct contact tracing.

The remaining officer and an enlisted soldier were confirmed to have been infected following their recent vacation, the ministry added.

The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 913.

Nationwide, South Korea reported 561 more COVID-19 cases, including 542 local infections, raising the total caseload to 134,678, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

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