A U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea has tested positive for the coronavirus and is in self-quarantine at his residence off base, the military said Tuesday.
The 23-year-old is based at Camp Carroll near the city of Daegu, where most of the country’s coronavirus cases have been clustered, and he visited Camp Walker earlier this week. He is the first U.S. service member to become infected.
Health professionals are trying to determine whether or not others have been exposed to COVID-19, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said in a statement.
“USFK is implementing all appropriate control measures to help control the spread of COVID-19 and remains at risk level ‘high’ for USFK peninsula-wide as a prudent measure to protect the force,” the command said.
The U.S. military is expecting an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in Germany and could restrict troops’ travel there, the commander of U.S. forces in Europe told senators Tuesday.
Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, who also serves as NATO supreme allied commander, was peppered by Senate Armed Services members from both parties on what precautions European Command has taken to protect U.S. troops and their families from the outbreak.
Wolters told Sen. Richard Blumenthal that travel by service members and their families had been restricted for two states in Italy.
Asked if there are plans to restrict travel in any other countries, Wolters replied, “We anticipate the need may arise in Germany, but that is still to be determined.”
“In Europe today, we have over 300 cases and the nation that is most concerned is Italy with six reported deaths,” Wolters told Blumenthal. “We’ve restricted travel to certain zones and we require all mil-air arrival flights to be screened for the virus.”
