This file photo, taken Jan. 22, 2021, shows U.S. service members at Incheon airport, west of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has extended the current antivirus rules banning visits to bars and clubs until next month, the U.S. military said Friday, as South Korea struggles to contain the virus fast spreading across the country.
The country’s daily caseload has remained above the 1,000 threshold since July 7 due to the resurgence in the greater Seoul area, prompting the government to extend the highest level of the four-tier distancing measures in the metropolitan region for another two weeks.
“Due to an increased number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and spread of the Delta variant in Seoul and surrounding areas, USFK will extend the current enhanced COVID-19 mitigation measures until August 27th at midnight,” USFK said in a Twitter post.
Under the measures, all USFK members, regardless of their vaccination status, are banned from visiting bars and clubs across the country and are required to wear masks indoors in public areas, according to the USFK.
Travel to the metropolitan areas is not allowed, except for mission essential activities.
USFK has also seen a series of cluster infections from its bases across South Korea.
Eight service members at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul; one at Camp Carroll in the southeastern city of Daegu; one each at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of the capital, and the nearby Osan Air Base; and a family member of a Department of Defense official at K-16 Air Base in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, were found to have contracted the virus Tuesday and Wednesday after developing symptoms or coming into contact with infected individuals, according to USFK.
Earlier, USFK also said five American service members and a civilian worker have tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival here from the United States.
One of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base on a U.S. government chartered flight, and four service members and a civilian affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense arrived on international commercial flights at Incheon International Airport, 40 km west of Seoul, earlier this month.
One of them tested positive on the first mandatory COVID-19 test prior to entering quarantine, the other on a subsequent test during quarantine and the remaining four on their final test required to exit quarantine, the USFK said Thursday.
The latest cases raised the total number of infections reported among the USFK-affiliated population to 1,119, most of whom tested positive upon their arrival here from the U.S.
(Yonhap)
