ANKARA

The novel coronavirus has further spread among US soldiers stationed in South Korea. 

A statement by US Forces Korea (USFK) on Thursday said that 10 soldiers, including their dependents, tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in South Korea between Oct. 23 and Nov. 3.

The latest COVID-19 cases among the USFK staff and their families have brought total cases to 288. All those testing positive for the virus have been quarantined.

"Thorough cleaning of all transportation assets and quarantine rooms has been completed," the statement said, adding that the USFK health professionals were working on contact tracing.

It added that USFK remains at "a high level of readiness with less than 1% of its active duty service members currently confirmed positive with COVID-19."

There are 28,500 USFK soldiers stationed in South Korea since the 1950s Korean war.

Meanwhile, South Korea itself is battling the rise in infections with 125 more cases Thursday, including 108 local infections, taking the national caseload to 27,050, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Around 475 people have died due to the COVID-19 in the country which conducted over 2.6 million coronavirus tests since Jan. 3.