Skip to main content
Global Edition
Friday, March 29, 2024

Virus may impact U.S. military drills with S.Korea

Duration: 02:10s 0 shares 1 views

Virus may impact U.S. military drills with S.Korea
Virus may impact U.S. military drills with S.Korea

The U.S. and South Korean militaries said on Monday they are considering scaling back joint training because of mounting concerns about the coronavirus.

South Korea is testing more than 200,000 members of a church at the center of a surge in cases.

Libby Hogan reports.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries are considering scaling back joint training because of mounting concerns over the coronavirus they said on Monday (24 February).

This is one of the first signs of the epidemic's fallout on global U.S. military activities.

South Korean health authorities have reported nearly 1,000 infections and ten people have died.

U.S. Forces Korea raised the risk level to "high" across the country, urging troops to limit travel.

The city of Daegu has so far had the largest amount of cases.

It also saw the first case tied to U.S. forces.

A veteran's widow who visited an American military base in the city tested positive for the virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also warned Americans not to travel to South Korea, after the total number of infected in the country reached nearly 1,000 cases, the biggest number of infections outside of China.

Authorities said on Tuesday (February 25) they aimed to test more than 200,000 members of a church, after a majority of the cases were traced back to a 61-year-old churchgoer.

Armed with disinfectant spray a teams also cleaned South Korea's parliament after virus scares.

China's top legislature banned the trade and consumption of wild animals on Monday as the death toll climbed to almost 2,700 people inside China.

The epidemic appears to have peaked in China between January 23rd and February 2nd and has been declining since said the World Health Organization (WHO).

But WHO's director general warned on Monday to look at the facts, not creating fear.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, saying: (SOUNDBITE) (English) WHO DIRECTOR GENERAL, TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, SAYING: "Does this virus have pandemic potential?

Absolutely.

But are we there yet?

Not yet.

This is not the time to focus on what word we use that won't prevent a single infection today."

You might like

Related news coverage

Advertisement

More coverage