Tours to Korean truce village resume after flu contained

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- Civilian tours of the truce village straddling the
divided Koreas will resume this week as no additional cases of type-A influenza
have been reported among South Korean soldiers working at the tensely guarded
area, an official said Monday.
Two soldiers were found last week to have contracted the highly contagious H1N1
virus -- one who escorted tourists and the other after attending an international
forum away from base during his furlough. The tours were suspended earlier this
month when the first soldier was diagnosed.
The escort has fully recovered, the official at the Ministry of National Defense
said, and eight of his fellow soldiers tested negative for the disease after
being briefly isolated.
The other infected soldier was still receiving treatment, the official said,
speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to be named in the
media.
"The tour will resume as early as Wednesday," the official said.
The number of H1N1 infections in South Korea stood at 865 as of Monday morning.
Three South Korean soldiers who helped quarantine activities at an international
airport were also infected but have recovered since, according to health
officials. No deaths have been reported here.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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