U.S. troops who traveled to China in the last two weeks were ordered to self-quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to American military officials in South Korea.
“The 14-day quarantine applies to any service members returning to South Korea from mainland China since Jan. 19, regardless of whether they show any symptoms,” officials said Sunday. There are not any known cases of American military personnel being infected with the deadly virus.
U.S. Forces Korea also encouraged family members, Pentagon civilians, contractors, South Korean employees, and United Nations military personnel to quarantine themselves “in the interest of public health safety.”
“USFK continues to stress the overall risk to USFK personnel remains low, but that the quarantine measures implemented are out of an abundance of caution to mitigate risk to the USFK population,” the command said in a statement.
The death toll in China has risen to more than 300, and over 14,000 confirmed cases have been reported worldwide. At least 15 cases have been confirmed in South Korea.
