SEOUL, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said on Friday that it will tighten quarantine measures for U.S. service members for two weeks amid the surging number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Korea in recent days.
The USFK said in a statement that it will implement enhanced COVID-19 mitigation measures for two weeks through July 23 due to the recent rise of COVID-19 cases within the USFK and South Korea.
Regardless of vaccination status, all bars and clubs will be off-limits for all U.S. troops here for the two weeks.
All USFK-affiliated individuals will be required to wear masks indoors on all USFK installations, while travel to Areas I and II in the Seoul metropolitan area will be off-limits except for individuals who live, work or are conducting mission essential activities, the USFK said.
The tightened measures came amid the soaring number of infections, especially in the greater Seoul area.
In the latest tally, South Korea reported 1,316 more cases of COVID-19 for the past 24 hours, lifting the total number of infections to 165,344.
It was the highest daily caseload since the country's first case was detected on Jan. 20 last year, hovering above 1,200 for the third consecutive day.
The recent resurgence was attributed to cluster infections in Seoul, its surrounding Gyeonggi province and the west port city of Incheon. Almost 80 percent of the new cases was reported in the metropolitan area.
The USFK said that five more U.S. soldiers and one dependent tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in South Korea between June 10 and July 3.
The total number of infections among the USFK-affiliated personnel rose to 978, according to Yonhap news agency.
