JCS civilian employee tests positive for COVID-19

military-coronavirus

JCS civilian employee tests positive for COVID-19

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- A civilian employee working at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials said Tuesday.

The employee, working at the defense ministry compound in Yongsan, central Seoul, was confirmed the previous day to have contracted the virus, marking the first such case among JCS personnel.

It is the first time since November for a COVID-19 case to be reported at the Yongsan compound, where the headquarters of the defense ministry and the JCS are located.

"Authorities will conduct contact tracing and disinfect facilities in accordance with the antivirus manual," an official said.

The case came as South Korea and the United States are preparing to stage an annual springtime combined exercise next month.

The defense ministry has said the two countries will decide the details of the computer-simulated command post training in consideration of the virus situation.

The latest case raised the total number of infections reported among the military population to 559.

As of Monday, South Korea had reported 83,869 COVID-19 infections, with the daily new cases staying in the 300s for the third consecutive day.

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