Soldiers Banned From Leaving S. Korea's Daegu Over New Coronavirus Cases- Defense Ministry

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th February, 2020) South Korean military personnel have been banned from leaving their bases in the southeastern city of Daegu, including for vacations and meeting visitors, in light of a new wave of the deadly coronavirus spreading in the region, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the South Korean Health Ministry's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-19, in South Korea has risen to 82 from 51. The most recent case was detected at a public health center in Daegu.

"We issued several precautionary measures for military units in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province areas yesterday night, effective immediately," the spokeswoman said at a briefing.

She said that the ministry was considering the possibility of putting soldiers who have visited areas near the city recently under quarantine.

"No suspected or confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have been reported among service personnel. The ministry continues to seek diverse preventive steps to prevent the spread of the virus into barracks," Choi said.

To date, according to the ministry, about 300 soldiers have been isolated, as they either have been to China, Hong Kong or Macao over the past 14 days or in contact with people who have visited those places.

The current death toll from the epidemic has exceeded 2,100 people, with over 75,000 others being infected worldwide. Meanwhile, more than 16,000 patients have fully recovered.