‘S.Korea meets conditions to lift travel restrictions on US troops’

Washington/Seoul, June 13 (IANS) South Korea meets the conditions to lift travel restrictions that were placed on US troops to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Pentagon said.

South Korea was added to a list of “green locations” as part of the Defense Department’s move to a conditions-based, phased approach to personnel movement and travel, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Pentagon as saying in a statement on Friday.

The travel restrictions will be lifted subject to an assessment of conditions at individual military installations, it said.

The US stations 28,500 troops in South Korea.

In March, the Pentagon announced a 60-day travel restriction for service members, Department of Defense civilians and families travelling to, from or through locations classified as Level 3 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

South Korea was issued the highest Level 3, together with Italy, China and Iran.

The restrictions were later updated, said the Yonhap News Agency report.

Currently, a host nation or US state or territory is designated a “green location” if it meets three conditions: removal of shelter-in-place orders or other travel restrictions in the area; 14-day downward trajectory of flu-like and COVID-19-like symptoms; and 14-day downward trajectory of new COVID-19 cases or positive tests.

The other host nations on the list are Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, Japan, and the UK.

In the US, the designation applies to 38 states, including New York and Texas; the District of Columbia; and Guam.

–IANS

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