US military ramps up coronavirus testing after weeks of relying on South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has been praised as a model for tackling the novel coronavirus with aggressive testing and tracking cases. That was fortunate for thousands of U.S. forces stationed on the peninsula.

The military watched warily as the virus spread in China, where it first appeared in late December, then jumped to other countries to become a global pandemic.

With the number of infections soaring in South Korea after a February outbreak in Daegu, U.S. Forces Korea restricted access to bases, implemented health checks at entry gates and ordered service members to avoid nonessential activities and travel outside the base.

However, USFK didn’t have the ability to conduct its own tests. It initially had to outsource patients and samples to an overwhelmed South Korean health system.

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