First US soldier tests positive for coronavirus in South Korean base camp

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the United States military in South Korea confirmed its first case among soldiers while the infected cases in the Asian country also jumped to nearly 1,146 with 169 new cases confirmed. As per South Korea's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reports, 134 of the 169 new cases were in Daegu and another 19 cases were in neighbouring towns. Furthermore, the authorities are now tracing the soldier's contact to determine if other people may have been exposed. 

According to international media reports, the US military said that the 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off base residence and he had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu. Around 28,500 US troops are currently stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. Earlier this week, the US Defense Secretary Mark Esper also said that the commander of US forces in South Korea, General Robert Abrams and the head of the joint chief of staff, General Park Han-ki, are looking at scaling back the military exercise due to the concerns about the deadly coronavirus outbreak. 

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South Korea's President Moon Jae-in also raised the alert level to 'highest' as the number of infected people in the nation soared. On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly said that the epidemic is China's 'largest public health emergency' since its founding in 1949. Jinping further called the outbreak a 'crisis' and said that the epidemic has the 'fastest transmission' and the widest range of infection which has been the most difficult to prevent and control.

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Death toll surpasses 2,700

Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,700 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 406 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 78,000. First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 25 countries since December 2019 and more than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,500 Coronavirus patients have by now been reportedly discharged from hospitals.

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