INVESTIGATION OF CLUSTER INFECTION AT ARMY BASE

[Anchor Lead]

An investigation has been carried out an army unit in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, where a cluster of COVID-19 infections has occurred. One more serviceman has tested positive for the coronavirus last night, bringing the total number of cases within the army unit to 14. However, it's still unclear how the infections began.

[Pkg]

​One more serviceman at the army unit in Pocheon has tested positive for COVID-19. All 220 service members at the unit have been tested. So far, the total number of COVID-19 cases at the unit reaches 14. The serviceman who was diagnosed last night developed muscle pain and a sore throat, but most of the other members are asymptomatic. However, the cause of the infections is still unclear. Two service members who got infected first have stayed at the unit all along after returning from their leave about 40 days ago. One of them went out once on July 10, but there were no new COVID-19 cases in the area he visited at the time. The other infected members have also stayed at the unit lately.

[Soundbite] JUNG EUN-KYEONG(KOREA CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION) : "There is always a possibility of community spread penetrating army units, because service members go out and stay out, and officers commute to work."

Quarantine authorities do not rule out the possibility of community spread as the source of infections at the army unit. They are also investigating a woman from Gangnam-gu District of Seoul who visited the unit on July 16 and who later tested positive for COVID-19, infecting her family as well.