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A coronavirus specimen bag awaits a service member arriving at Osan Air Base, South Korea, July 14, 2020.

A coronavirus specimen bag awaits a service member arriving at Osan Air Base, South Korea, July 14, 2020. (Matthew Keeler/Stars and Stripes)

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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Eight more troops and civilians affiliated with U.S. Forces Korea tested positive for the coronavirus after flying to South Korea from abroad over the past week, the military said Thursday.

Meanwhile, USFK commander Gen. Robert Abrams, who was quarantined after returning to the South from the United States nearly two weeks ago, tweeted that he had received negative results on a mandatory exit test, allowing him to end the quarantine on Friday.

The latest cases raised to 259 the number of coronavirus patients affiliated with USFK since late February — most traveling to South Korea for new assignments or returning from the United States. Only 26 of the cases, including three soldiers, were locally transmitted.

In a bid to contain the respiratory virus, USFK has implemented a strict arrivals process that includes an initial coronavirus test, a two-week quarantine, then a second coronavirus test required before exit.

Four service members arrived at Osan Air Base on government-chartered flights from the U.S. on Sunday and Tuesday, while two contractors and two military dependents arrived at Incheon International Airport on commercial flights on Oct. 23 and Tuesday, USFK said in a press release.

All eight received positive results on their initial test and have been transferred to an isolation facility on Camp Humphreys, the main Army base in South Korea.

news@stripes.com

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