[Comprehensive] Military Manpower Administration "Nationwide Military Service Physical Examinations Suspended for 2 Weeks"

Enlistees are undergoing physical examinations at the Military Manpower Administration.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] From the 24th, nationwide military service physical examinations will be temporarily suspended. This is a measure in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On the 23rd, the Military Manpower Administration announced that due to the government's upgrade of the COVID-19 infectious disease crisis alert to the 'serious' level, military service physical examinations nationwide will be temporarily suspended for two weeks until the 6th of next month.

The Military Manpower Administration plans to notify those subject to military service of the suspension of the physical examinations via phone calls or notification messages. Additionally, once the crisis alert is downgraded and the physical examinations resume, those subject to military service will be able to take the examination on their preferred date.

Meanwhile, a total of seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection have been identified within the military. Through a full investigation of visitors to the Daegu, Yeongcheon, and Cheongdo areas, approximately 6,400 individuals who visited or had contact have been identified, and all have been placed under preventive quarantine measures.

According to the Ministry of National Defense as of 6 p.m. on the day, there are a total of seven confirmed COVID-19 cases in the military: four in the Army, one in the Navy, one in the Air Force, and one in the Marine Corps. Given the nature of communal living in the military, there are concerns that infections within the military could escalate uncontrollably. In response, military authorities are strengthening preventive measures, including expanding the scope of quarantine.

The first confirmed case in the military was a corporal who visited Daegu while on leave from the Navy base in Jeju on the 20th. Subsequently, a captain from an Army unit in Jeungpyeong, Chungbuk, a first lieutenant from the Air Force Weather Unit dispatched to Gyeryongdae, Chungnam, were confirmed positive, as well as an Army corporal in Pocheon, Gyeonggi, an Army sergeant in Sokcho, Gangwon, and a civilian employee of the Army in Daegu.