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USFK website

US Forces Korea (USFK) decided to raise the health protection condition (HPCON) level at all American military bases in South Korea by one level as of 5 am on Aug. 17. The measure reflects concern about the recent community transmission of COVID-19 in the country, with more than 200 people testing positive in one day.

“Out of an abundance of caution based on the recent spike of confirmed COVID-19 cases across South Korea, United States Forces Korea has raised its current health protection condition to ‘Charlie’ peninsula-wide effective Monday, Aug. 17 at 5 am,” USFK announced in a bulletin posted on its official website on Saturday.

The Charlie level of HPCON imposes thorough restrictions on meetings and movement. USFK personnel are forbidden from visiting a range of facilities outside US bases, including restaurants, amusement parks, festivals, movie theaters, bars, night clubs, and adult establishments, and meetings of 15 or more people are also banned.

USFK also plans to have service members telecommute except when required to report for duty so as to minimize viral exposure. Those who do leave their homes are required to wear masks.

The USFK recognizes five HPCON levels, beginning with Routine and moving up through Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. On Aug. 15, USFK had already raised the HPCON level from Bravo to Charlie at bases in Seoul and its suburbs.

The South Korea-US joint command post exercise that had been scheduled to begin on Aug. 16 was delayed two days because of the spike in COVID-19 cases. The rescheduled exercise is slated to run from Aug. 18 to 28. The exercise was hurriedly delayed when a senior officer in the South Korean Army who’d been dispatched to the Jaundae base in Daejeon to participate in the exercise tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 14.

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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