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HEALTH-VIRUS-SKOREA-US-LEAD
US military reports South Korea virus case
SEOUL, Feb 26, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – An American soldier stationed in South
Korea has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, commanders said
Wednesday, as the country’s case total jumped again.
The soldier, a 23-year-old man, is the first infection among the 28,500
troops Washington stations in the South to defend it against the nuclear-
armed North.
Based at Camp Carroll 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of Daegu, the
serviceman has been put in self-quarantine at his home, US Forces Korea said,
adding it was conducting “contact tracing” to determine whether other
soldiers had been exposed.
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities reported 169 new infections, taking the
overall national tally to 1,146, by far the largest outside China.
An 11th person has died of the disease, the Korea Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (KCDC) said — a Mongolian man in his 30s who became
the first foreign national to fall victim to the outbreak.
Yonhap news agency reported that he had been in hospital in South Korea
awaiting a liver transplant.
The vast majority — 90 percent — of the new infections were in Daegu, the
country’s fourth-largest city and the epicentre of the outbreak, and the
neighbouring province of North Gyeongsang.
Between them they account for the vast bulk of the national total.
The streets of Daegu — which has a population of 2.5 million — have been
largely deserted for days, apart from long queues at the few shops with masks
for sale.
Authorities urged the public to exercise extra caution, advising citizens
to stay home if they have a fever or respiratory symptoms.
But they say they are not considering putting the city in lockdown the way
China did for Wuhan, where the virus first emerged.
In Daegu, Prime Minster Chung Sye-kyun told a meeting the government would
“mobilise all resources and means” to try to control the outbreak.
Chung is leading the government response in Daegu and said it was seeking
to return the city to normality within four weeks, adding this week was the
“pivotal time to determine victory or defeat” in the fight against
coronavirus.
South Korea has an advanced medical system, a free press and a strong
culture of public accountability, and observers say that its health
statistics can be treated with confidence.
Most of the country’s infections are linked to the Shincheonji Church of
Jesus, an entity often accused of being a cult that commands around 200,000
followers.
A 61-year-old female member developed a fever on February 10, but attended
at least four church services in Daegu before being diagnosed.
KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong advised Shincheonji followers to refrain from
going outside “as much as possible”.
With public criticism growing, Shincheonji’s founder Lee Man-hee, aged 88,
said the group would provide the government a list of all its members to
enable them to be tested for the virus.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0940 hrs