Four Army soldiers have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total number of infections reported among the military population to 1,513, the defense ministry said Thursday.

Three soldiers in Paju, north of Seoul, were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after coming into contact with a colleague who tested positive earlier, while the other soldier, based in the southeastern city of Daegu, was found to have been infected after a vacation, according to the ministry.

Among four of the virus-hit Cheonghae unit members still under hospital treatment, one sailor was set to be released later in the day.

As of Wednesday, 114,430 troops aged 30 and over, or 98 percent of the age group who had their first vaccine shots, had received their second doses, the ministry said. (Yonhap)