 |
| A South Korean Air Force plane arrives at an unidentified African airport July 18, 2021, in this photo provided by the defense ministry. South Korea sent two KC-330 multipurpose aerial tankers to bring home all South Korean service members belonging to the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit deployed off the coast of Africa, after the unit reported a mass COVID-19 outbreak onboard the destroyer they were serving on. Yonhap |
All 272 sailors and soldiers serving in the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit who contracted COVID-19 are presumed to have come down with the highly transmissible Delta variant, as they were conducting missions in waters off Africa, the health authorities said Wednesday.
The members of the 301-strong unit were airlifted home last month, cutting short their mission in Africa after 247 of them tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 64 of them have been confirmed to be infected with the variant that was first reported in India, with the others being highly likely to be infected with the same strain.
The KDCA said there have been no infections that developed into serious ones.
Of the confirmed cases, 268 service members have been released from medical facilities, while four sailors are currently under a two-week quarantine.
South Korea has reported a rising number of infections by the Delta variant, with the total caseload tallied at 4,912, the KDCA said. (Yonhap)
272 members of Cheonghae unit presumed to have contracted delta variant: authorities
Source: Buhay Kapa PH
0 Comments