According to the article the USFK soldier contracted the virus from the contractor who worked at the 8th Army headquarters. It will be interesting to see how many people end up being infected from just the one contractor who initially got it:
The soldier is in isolation at Camp Humphreys in a barracks set aside for coronavirus cases, according to a USFK press release.
The contractor was the fourth case of coronavirus confirmed at Camp Humphreys, which is in the rural area of Pyeongtaek about 55 miles south of Seoul. The other eight cases are at bases in the southeastern city of Daegu and nearby areas, which were at the center of the outbreak that began in mid-February in South Korea.
USFK remains at a high-risk level for the virus. The command has sharply restricted access to bases and ordered service members to avoid nonessential travel and off-post social activities in a bid to keep the virus from spreading.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
It looks like General Abrams has had enough with civilians putting troops at risk by spreading the coronavirus and has declared a public health emergency:
“In order to ensure I possess the necessary authorities needed to enforce compliance and protect the force, I have declared a Public Health Emergency for all U.S. commands and military installations” in South Korea, Abrams said in a video announcement.
He said the new designation applies to all service members, family members, U.S. and South Korean civilian employees, contractors and Defense Department retirees who have access to U.S. military installations.
Violations will be subject to punishment including barring individuals from installations, he added.
The overall number of confirmed infections in South Korea has been on a downward trend in recent days, but health authorities have warned that the threat remains due to cluster outbreaks and imported cases.
Commanders also have expressed increasing concern about complacency, particularly among civilian employees who cannot be forced to follow the same orders as service members to avoid nonessential travel and off-post social activities.
Civilians will continue to be the weak link in USFK’s coronavirus prevention efforts because they don’t have to follow the same rules as US military servicemembers:
A U.S. military contractor working at Eighth Army headquarters on Camp Humphreys has tested positive for coronavirus, the 10th case linked to U.S. Forces Korea, prompting new on-base restrictions to prevent complacency after more than a month of near confinement.
The latest infection underscored the vulnerability of the military community despite strict limitations on access and movement aimed at forming what commanders call “protective bubbles” to try to stop the coronavirus pandemic from spreading on bases across the divided peninsula.
Officials further tightened restrictions in a bid to prevent people from letting their guard down too soon as the overall pace of infections in South Korea has started to slow. Only 76 new cases were logged Tuesday, down from a high of 909 on Feb. 29, for a total of 9,037.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but the military is even removing chairs from eating establishments now to enforce take out only dining on-post.
Here is the latest on the US-ROK cost sharing negotiations:
Korea and the United States still have gaps over the sharing of the cost for stationing the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, after they wrapped up three days of hard bargaining in Los Angeles.
The failure to reconcile their differences added to concerns that Korean workers in the USFK could be forced to go on unpaid leave starting next month, as the U.S. military has repeatedly warned of furloughs if a deal is not reached.
Seoul’s top negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his U.S. counterpart, James DeHart, held the talks from Tuesday through Thursday to reach the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA). They were initially to meet for two days but extended their negotiations for another day.
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest on the USFK furlough issue:
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday it has completed sorting out its Korean employees that provide essential duties to be excluded from a potential furlough in case Seoul and Washington fail to work out a defense cost-sharing deal in time.
The USFK has warned that some of its 9,000 Korean workers could be forced to go on unpaid leave starting in April should Seoul and Washington fail to reach a deal on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that regulates their sharing of the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK on Korean soil.
“The USFK has completed its Partial Furlough Implementation Process analysis for Korean national employees who will be retained to provide life, health, safety and readiness services,” USFK said in a release, adding that it is reviewing the results with the union of the Korean employees.
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link.
