South Korean Ministry Of Defense Holds COVID-19 Outbreak Audit On ROKS Munmu The Great

Illustration of the ROKS Munmu The Great (DDH 976) destroyer of South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy/Mass Rebecca J. Moat)

JAKARTA - South Korea's Ministry of Defense has launched inspections regarding the coronavirus outbreak, which infected 90 percent of the 301 members of the anti-piracy unit Cheonghae aboard the destroyer ROKS Munmu The Great (DDH 976).

This outbreak forced the ship to stop its anti-terror operations being carried out in waters off Africa, forced to return to base in South Korea.

A 10-member team from the ministry's inspector's office will check whether the military, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy, Armed Forces Medical Command, Cheonghae Unit and relevant ministry bureaus, responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by aboard the 4,400-ton destroyer for two weeks. forward.

Previously, the military had come under fire for its poor initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak, not immediately seeking ways to vaccinate its soldiers serving overseas. None of the soldiers of the Cheonghae unit had been vaccinated, as they left South Korea in early February, a few weeks before the Ginseng Country began the vaccination campaign.

"The Ministry of Defense will investigate this case thoroughly, and based on the results, take appropriate action against those responsible," the ministry said in a statement.

Cheonghae's unit first reported six cases of the virus last week, and subsequent tests on all crew members confirmed a total of 271 infections. All 301 members were flown to South Korea Tuesday, and sent to military hospitals and treatment centers for quarantine.

Deputy Defense Minister Park Jae-min said on Wednesday the mass infections appeared to have started after the destroyer docked at a port in Africa, to reload logistics from June 28 to July 1. One day after the ship left port, officers first showed symptoms of a cold, but were only given cold medicine.

Park said an investigation was needed to figure out the exact route of infection, as all service members wore protective gear when they reloaded the logistics.

The audit team is also expected to see how the mass outbreak started, although the investigation should largely rely on the testimony of the sailors.

The plan is that the destroyer will arrive in South Korea around September. The ship will be piloted by a new team of sailors, as well as undergoing prior disinfection.

On Thursday, the ministry said a sailor who previously tested negative was found to have contracted the virus, raising the total caseload among Cheonghae units to 271. Of these, 17 people, including one showing severe symptoms, are in hospital, while the rest are in the treatment center. Thirty members who tested negative have also been isolated in military quarantine facilities, according to Ministry of Defense data.