Coronavirus: lockdown at two US bases in South Korea; India starts huge vaccine drive
- On day one around 300,000 Indians were due to receive the first of two doses after Prime Minister Modi launched the programme on Saturday
- The US Forces in Korea imposed a shelter-in-place order on two of its bases after a cluster of virus infections
Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, is the largest US military base overseas, housing the USFK headquarters and thousands of troops, civilian workers, and their family members.
It was not immediately clear how many cases have been reported at the two bases, but the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Saturday a total of 18 people related to the US base in Seoul tested positive this week so far. The command has been relatively successful in keeping infections down to a handful.
The new cluster was reported as Covid-19 vaccines are being administered to US troops in the country.
South Korea reported 580 new Covid-19 cases as of midnight on Friday, bringing total infections to 71,820, with 1,236 deaths.
More than 60 per cent of the domestically transmitted cases have been from Seoul and its neighbouring areas, where about half of the nation’s 52 million people live.