90% OF CHEONGHAE UNIT MEMBERS INFECTED

[Anchor Lead]

All 301 members of the Cheonghae Unit have received PCR tests in Korea. As many as 270 of them have tested positive for COVID-19. The Defense Ministry has launched a probe to find those responsible for the mass outbreak at the unit and its early return to Korea.

[Pkg]

Nine out of ten Cheonghae Unit members have tested positive for COVID-19. The results of PCR tests came back positive for 270 of the 301 members. Thirty-one tested negative. Fourteen members of the unit have been hospitalized.

[Soundbite] Boo Seung-chan(Defense Ministry spokesperson) : "The hospitalized members are in good condition. Those who have tested negative will be transported to a military isolation facility."

The Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have come under fire for allowing a mass outbreak to occur at the unit. The Defense Ministry planned vaccinations only for medical units in the first quarter of the year and for soon-to-be-dispatched units in the second quarter. When discussing the matter with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency back in April, the ministry did not mention the Cheonghae Unit. Reports to authorities regarding the outbreak were not made properly, either. The number of those with symptoms surged to more than 100 just nine days after the first case was confirmed on July 2. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had not grasped the situation until it received the first report on July 10. The Defense Ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff finally set up a situation control team on July 14, with the Minister of Defense receiving the first report late in the evening. The Defense Ministry instructed the Cheonghae Unit to take antigen test kits late last year, but the unit took antibody kits instead. The Navy says it did so because it had been told by a kit provider that antigen test kits were half as accurate as the antibody kits, of which accuracy rates reach 80-90 percent. Many doubt the Navy was unaware of the fact that antibody tests can be conducted no sooner than two weeks after contracting the virus. The Defense Ministry is investigating the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy and the Armed Forces Medical Command to find those responsible for the mass outbreak at the Cheonghae Unit.