Confirmed: U.S. Soldier Diagnosed with Novel Coronavirus in South Korea

The first confirmed case of an active-duty U.S. solider testing positive for Covid-19 in South Korea has been confirmed by United Forces Korea.

The soldier is a 23-year-old male who visited Camp Walker on February 24 and Camp Carroll Feb. 21-25. He is currently in self-quarantine at his off-base residence.

KCDC and USFK health professionals are actively conducting contact tracing to determine whether any others may have been exposed.

Camp Carroll Army Base is located on the southeast portion of the peninsula of South Korea, in the village of Waegwan, approximately 12 miles from the city of Daegu, where the surge of Korean virus cases originated.

Camp Walker is part of U.S. Army Garrison Daegu. The base spans 94 acres and contains family housing for about 100 military and civilian families. Also on Camp Walker are Daegu Middle High School, a DoDEA school serving 7th to 12th graders; the main Exchange and DeCA Commissary; the Camp Walker Army Lodge; the Evergreen Golf Course; and several Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) clubs.

USFK had earlier denied and asked for retraction of South Korean media reports that a soldier in Pyeongtaek had already tested positive a few days ago. USFK did promptly confirm yesterday that a dependent (a soldier’s elderly widow) who holds U.S. citizenship had been infected and had visited the U.S. Army Garrison in Daegu.

Out of a strong abundance of caution to protect the USFK population from COVID-19, USFK raised its risk level to “HIGH” – also referred to as USFK’s Health Protection Condition Charlie (HPCON C).

Since this is breaking news, this page will be updated with details about the first U.S. serviceman infected with Covid-19 in South Korea.