Published 19:08 IST, February 26th 2020
South Korea using app to monitor travellers entering the country amid coronavirus outbreak
In an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus, South Korea is now using an app to track travellers who are entering the country, media reported.
In an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus, South Korea is now using an app to track travellers who are entering the country. According to international media reports, the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked all people entering the country to download a self-diagnosis app as soon as they land. The deadly virus has reportedly infected over 1,146 and killed nearly 11 people in South Korea.
Self-diagnosis and report
According to reports, all the travellers have been asked to self diagnose and report whether they have any symptoms of coronavirus or not using the app on a daily basis. The app is reportedly monitored by the officials of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry. This comes as the count of confirmed cases jumped again on February 26 and the US military confirmed its first case among American soldiers based in the Asian country.
US soldier in self qurantine
According to a statement by the US military, the 23-year-old soldier was in self-quarantine at his off-base residence. It added that the soldier had been based in Camp Carroll in a town near Daegu, and visited both Carroll and nearby Camp Walker in recent days. South Korean authorities and US military health professionals were now tracing his contacts to determine if other people may have been exposed, international media reported.
About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. United States Forces Korea previously said a widowed dependent had the virus, the first case involving a USFK-related individual. South Korea's 600,000-member military has reported 18 cases and quarantined thousands of soldiers as a precaution. According to reports, the epidemic has killed over 2,700 people worldwide, with the vast majority in mainland China. Also, there have been more than 80,000 global cases of the infection, international media reported.
Updated 19:08 IST, February 26th 2020