[Summary] First 100 COVID-19 Cases Confirmed in Military... Expected to Exceed 160

On the 12th, military personnel on leave were moving at Seoul Station. In response to the spread of COVID-19, the military authorities will also apply the 'Level 4 Social Distancing within the Military' starting from this day. First, the use of leave by soldiers is only allowed within 10% of the unit's personnel, and outings are basically restricted. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the military has exceeded 100. This comes one month after the first Omicron case was detected in the military in December last year, and two years since the first COVID-19 case occurred in the military in February 2020.

According to military authorities on the 26th, 160 soldiers tested positive for COVID-19 within the military on that day. The confirmed cases were sporadically reported from the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Ministry of National Defense direct units, including many naval ship personnel who work in confined spaces.

Confirmed cases in training centers, where many personnel live in groups, continue unabated. At the Nonsan Army Training Center, where 30 cases were confirmed the previous day, 13 additional cases were reported, and 17 new confirmed cases were reported among trainees at the Air Force Education Command.

The Navy is also on high alert. A non-commissioned officer on the Daejeon ship of the Navy's 8th Squadron and an officer on the Gochang ship of the 5th Squadron tested positive. Although ships have ventilation systems, it is difficult to ventilate all internal areas, making them vulnerable to infection and increasing the possibility of spread. Two soldiers from the Marine Corps 2nd Division also tested positive. Officers at the Armed Forces Goyang Hospital and Armed Forces Capital Hospital, who treat soldiers, were also infected.

The cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the military currently stands at 4,180, of which 2,312 cases, or 55.3%, are breakthrough infections. As the Omicron variant rapidly spreads, the Ministry of National Defense has prepared measures to maintain the current polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing capacity and is planning to lease private facilities in preparation for a surge in isolated personnel.

Additionally, as of the 26th, the third-dose vaccination rate among soldiers is 77.4%, higher than the general population (50.1%), but attention is focused on the fact that most military COVID-19 cases are breakthrough infections confirmed more than two weeks after completing vaccination. Considering that most confirmed cases are soldiers who have returned from leave or overnight leave, the military is contemplating whether to reinstate restrictions on soldiers' leave.