According to the article the USFK soldier contracted the virus from the contractor who worked at the 8th Army headquarters. It will be interesting to see how many people end up being infected from just the one contractor who initially got it:
The soldier is in isolation at Camp Humphreys in a barracks set aside for coronavirus cases, according to a USFK press release.
The contractor was the fourth case of coronavirus confirmed at Camp Humphreys, which is in the rural area of Pyeongtaek about 55 miles south of Seoul. The other eight cases are at bases in the southeastern city of Daegu and nearby areas, which were at the center of the outbreak that began in mid-February in South Korea.
USFK remains at a high-risk level for the virus. The command has sharply restricted access to bases and ordered service members to avoid nonessential travel and off-post social activities in a bid to keep the virus from spreading.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
It looks like General Abrams has had enough with civilians putting troops at risk by spreading the coronavirus and has declared a public health emergency:
“In order to ensure I possess the necessary authorities needed to enforce compliance and protect the force, I have declared a Public Health Emergency for all U.S. commands and military installations” in South Korea, Abrams said in a video announcement.
He said the new designation applies to all service members, family members, U.S. and South Korean civilian employees, contractors and Defense Department retirees who have access to U.S. military installations.
Violations will be subject to punishment including barring individuals from installations, he added.
The overall number of confirmed infections in South Korea has been on a downward trend in recent days, but health authorities have warned that the threat remains due to cluster outbreaks and imported cases.
Commanders also have expressed increasing concern about complacency, particularly among civilian employees who cannot be forced to follow the same orders as service members to avoid nonessential travel and off-post social activities.
Condolences to friends and families of both soldiers:
A combat medic died in his barracks over the weekend at Camp Humphreys, the military said Wednesday, adding the cause of death was under investigation.
Spc. Clay Welch, 20, of Dearborn Heights, Mich., was found unresponsive on Sunday and pronounced dead at the scene, the 2nd Infantry Division said. His death was not related to the coronavirus outbreak in South Korea, it added. (…….)
Welch was the second soldier to die over the weekend at Camp Humphreys, the main U.S. base in South Korea.
Pfc. Marissa Jo Gloria, 25, a combat engineer with the 2nd ID sustainment brigade, was found dead in her barracks on Saturday.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Civilians will continue to be the weak link in USFK’s coronavirus prevention efforts because they don’t have to follow the same rules as US military servicemembers:
A U.S. military contractor working at Eighth Army headquarters on Camp Humphreys has tested positive for coronavirus, the 10th case linked to U.S. Forces Korea, prompting new on-base restrictions to prevent complacency after more than a month of near confinement.
The latest infection underscored the vulnerability of the military community despite strict limitations on access and movement aimed at forming what commanders call “protective bubbles” to try to stop the coronavirus pandemic from spreading on bases across the divided peninsula.
Officials further tightened restrictions in a bid to prevent people from letting their guard down too soon as the overall pace of infections in South Korea has started to slow. Only 76 new cases were logged Tuesday, down from a high of 909 on Feb. 29, for a total of 9,037.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but the military is even removing chairs from eating establishments now to enforce take out only dining on-post.
USFK is now able to conduct their own coronavirus testing:
With the number of infections soaring in South Korea after a February outbreak in Daegu, U.S. Forces Korea restricted access to bases, implemented health checks at entry gates and ordered service members to avoid nonessential activities and travel outside the base.
However, USFK didn’t have the ability to conduct its own tests. It initially had to outsource patients and samples to an overwhelmed South Korean health system.
That changed on March 7 when the military stood up its own lab at the new hospital that opened last year on Camp Humphreys, allowing it to ramp up testing.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but of interest is that 250 USFK servicemembers and civilians have been tested with only 9 so far coming up positive. The lab at Camp Humphreys is also conducting only 10 test a day with the capacity to do about 80 if needed.
If possible maybe some of these test kits need to be shipped to the U.S. to help out there.
Here is the latest on the USFK furlough issue:
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday it has completed sorting out its Korean employees that provide essential duties to be excluded from a potential furlough in case Seoul and Washington fail to work out a defense cost-sharing deal in time.
The USFK has warned that some of its 9,000 Korean workers could be forced to go on unpaid leave starting in April should Seoul and Washington fail to reach a deal on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that regulates their sharing of the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK on Korean soil.
“The USFK has completed its Partial Furlough Implementation Process analysis for Korean national employees who will be retained to provide life, health, safety and readiness services,” USFK said in a release, adding that it is reviewing the results with the union of the Korean employees.
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link.
Another Korean employee from Camp Walker in Daegu has tested positive for the coronavirus:
A South Korean woman who works for the U.S. military in Daegu tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the military’s total to nine, the command said Tuesday, as the overall number of cases in South Korea showed signs of slowing.
U.S. Forces Korea said the woman, who worked at Camp Walker, has isolated herself at her off-base residence in the southeastern city, which is at the center of the outbreak that has led to more than 7,500 infections nationwide, with 54 deaths.
South Korean and U.S. military health professionals “are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether anyone else may have been exposed,” USFK said in a press release, adding the military remains at a “high” risk level across the divided peninsula.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but now nine people related to USFK have tested positive for the coronavirus, but only one of them has been a USFK soldier.
Another person with links to USFK has tested positive for the coronavirus:
A South Korean construction worker at a U.S. military base in the coronavirus-hit city of Daegu has tested positive for COVID-19, U.S. Forces Korea said Monday, raising to eight the number of USFK-affiliated people who have been infected.
The employee, who was on contract with USFK at Camp Walker, “is currently in isolation at his off-base residence” as directed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a press release.
U.S. military and South Korean health professionals are investigating the employee’s movements and contacts to determine whether anybody else may have been exposed to the virus, it said.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
This decision kind of seemed inevitable and it has now in fact happened:
The Army has halted moves to new assignments for troops stationed in South Korea through May in a bid to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, officials said Sunday.
The decision, which was announced a day after the Army unveiled the same measures for troops based in Italy, also affects travel for professional military education in the United States.
Both U.S. allies are in the midst of major outbreaks of the virus, with more than 7,300 confirmed cases in South Korea and nearly 6,000 in Italy.
The Army has ordered a stop for “all Army soldiers and family members moving to or from South Korea or soldiers scheduled to attend professional military education in the United States due to COVID-19 concerns,” U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
