South Korea virus cases jump again, 1st US soldier infected

The U.S. military says one of its soldiers based in South Korea tested positive for a new virus, the first U.S. service member infected.

A U.S. military statement said the 23-year-old man is in self quarantine at his off-base residence. It says the soldier was originally based in Camp Caroll in a town near the southeastern city of Daegu, where most of South Korea’s virus cases are clustered.

South Korea has almost 1,150 cases of the new coronavirus, the biggest outbreak outside mainland China. About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea.