One Army officer and a civilian worker for the military have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Monday.

The officer underwent a test after showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. He has not visited his base in the city of Pocheon, north of Seoul, recently, as he has been on leave, according to the ministry.

The civilian worker on an Army base in the border town of Paju was confirmed to have been infected in a virus test required to return to work after weekslong teleworking, the ministry said.

"Both do not appear to have had direct contact with other members of their bases. Contact tracing is under way in cooperation with health authorities," a ministry official said.

The latest cases brought the total number of virus cases among the military population to 545.

Currently, 267 service members are in isolation in accordance with health authorities' guidelines, and the military has quarantined an additional 3,174 people under stricter antivirus schemes of its own as a preventive step, according to the ministry.

Nationwide, the country added 437 more COVID-19 cases, including 405 locally transmitted infections, raising the total caseload to 75,521, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). (Yonhap)