Area IV adjusts to HPCON Bravo on Mon. Feb. 8 at 6 am, we want to remind our affiliated community the risk still exists. All personnel must follow all South Korean directives & laws & adhere to our HPCON mitigation measures, core tenets & wear a mask at all times off post. pic.twitter.com/X1ayWMDEON
Here is some good news for service members in Area IV:
A soldier with the 25th Transportation Battalion checks temperatures before allowing people to enter Camp Walker in Daegu, South Korea, Feb. 22, 2020.
Clusters of new cases at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul and at Humphreys prompted weeklong lockdowns starting Jan. 15 while health authorities tracked down potentially infected individuals.
“Area IV’s record of success — including low confirmed cases, zero on-installation positive cases since April 2020, and their reduction of the threat to the community — have contributed to USFK’s decision to adjust its HPCON level to Bravo in Area IV,” USFK commander Gen. Robert Abrams said in the release.
The last USFK case reported in the area involved a service member’s dependent who tested positive on April 25 after returning from a trip to the United States.
Here is the latest coronavirus infections in USFK:
Nine USFK-affiliated individuals tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 29 and Feb. 4.One U.S. service member stationed at K-16 Air Base in Seongnam, tested positive on Jan. 29 after providing a screening sample as part of USFK’s enhanced surveillance testing program.Five U.S. service members stationed at Camp Casey and one U.S. service member stationed on Camp Carroll, each tested positive on Feb. 4 after providing a screening sample as part of USFK’s enhanced surveillance testing program.One ROK service member, who is assigned to a combined US-ROK unit stationed on U.S. Army Garrison – Humphreys, tested positive on Feb. 4 during his mandatory test required to exit quarantine.
The spouse of a U.S. service member assigned to U.S. Army Garrison – Humphreys and has access to the installation, tested positive on Feb. 4 during her mandatory test required to exit quarantine. All individuals are currently in isolation at a USAG – Humphreys facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases.
1990 – This is a breakdown of camps that belong to 2ID then, except Red Cloud at the time. H220 is also Mobile. As you can see it is out of 2ID Reg 600-5. This very book is on display at the 2ID museum at Camp Humphreys, Korea! #2id#koreandmzvets#upontheZ#korea#rok#dmzpic.twitter.com/zkhkWdQnkC
USFK has renewed the current Public Health Emergency Declaration. It is in effect through April 27, 2021, unless it is renewed or terminated before then. It does not change our current HPCON level, preventive measures, or indicate an increased risk level. https://t.co/nBN4Z8Mdje
USFK has extended the shelter in place for all of USAG Yongsan in addition to specified units and individuals on @USAGHumphreys through Wed. Jan 27 at 11:59 pm based on contact tracing.
Like I have always said, Korean authorities can open the road to the THAAD site any time they want to, they just choose not to on a daily basis:
Residents and civic activists hold a protest against the planned ground transport of equipment onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 22, 2020, in this photo provided by a civic group.
Protestors failed to block 32 vehicles carrying construction equipment and materials onto a military base Friday in South Korea where the U.S. Army operates a missile-defense system, according to local media.
More than 50 people staged a sit-in as trucks approached the former golf course that’s home to a U.S.-built and operated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, about 190 miles south of Seoul in Seongju, The Joongang Ilbo, an English-language newspaper, reported.
You can read more at the link, but the article says the convoy brought in construction material to help with barracks renovations and remove old construction waste from the site.
Protesters have been blocking the road since the THAAD battery was put in which causes daily logistical support to the site to be conducted by helicopter. Only when materials that cannot be moved by helicopter need to be brought in does the police open the road. I have always been concerned that over an extended period of time this could increase the chances of a helicopter crash happening.
The coronavirus issues within USFK has continued to spread, now to Kunsan Airbase:
Airborne early warning and control aircraft Peace Eye gets ready for takeoff at Kunsan Air Base in North Jeolla Province. Korea Times file
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Friday imposed movement restrictions on all individuals affiliated with its air base in the western city of Gunsan due to the recent coronavirus outbreak there.
Under the order, travel to and from Kunsan Air Base is prohibited until Monday, though members can be granted exceptions “to perform assigned and authorized duties and missions only,” USFK said in a Facebook post.
The directive came a day after three service members on the base tested positive for COVID-19.
One service member was confirmed to have been infected, then two of his colleagues tested positive after coming into direct contact with him, according to U.S. military.
Up until Friday, USFK had reported a total of 648 COVID-19 patients among its population.
USFK also has enforced a “shelter in place” directive through Sunday that calls on service members at the Yongsan garrison in central Seoul to stay at home except for necessary activities.
To our USFK-affiliated community who are affected by the "shelter in place" directive, the following list provides on and off installation authorized activities through Tuesday, Jan 19 at 11:59 pm. For more information: https://t.co/POGaNGMzQkpic.twitter.com/KbGdnRymI3
For the first time USFK has had to deal with a cluster infection from the coronavirus:
A dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine is prepared at Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital on Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Jan. 13, 2021
Coronavirus clusters at the U.S. Army’s largest installation in South Korea and at its former headquarters in Seoul are forcing personnel to “shelter in place” throughout the long holiday weekend.
The order, announced at 6 a.m. Saturday on U.S. Forces Korea’s official Facebook page, went into effect immediately for those stationed at Camp Humphreys — headquarters for USFK, Eighth Army and the 2nd Infantry Division — and Yongsan Garrison, 55 miles to the north. It expires at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.
“USFK defines ‘shelter in place’ as remaining at your residence – including other occupants or residents – except for life, health, safety and essential services to include food and medicine purchases,” the announcement said.
You can read more at the link, but USFK has had 19 new infections since Thursday and they try to conduct contact tracing to identify other potentially infected people. Having people shelter in place is help stop any spread while the contact tracers do their work.
