South Korean gov't apologizes over virus-stricken destroyer

South Korea’s prime minister has offered a public apology over a large-scale coronavirus outbreak on a destroyer on an anti-piracy mission off East Africa

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea’s prime minister on Tuesday apologized for “failing to carefully take care of the health” of hundreds of sailors who contracted the coronavirus on a navy ship taking part in an anti-piracy mission off East Africa. The outbreak aboard the destroyer Munmu the Great is the largest cluster South Korea's military has seen. A total of 247 of the ship's 301 crew have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days and two military planes had to be dispatched to fly them all home. None of the destroyer’s crew had been vaccinated because they left South Korea in early February, before the start of the country’s vaccination campaign. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said in televised comments that the government is “very sorry for failing to carefully take care of the health of our soldiers who are devoting themselves to the country.”