South Korea has placed more than 7,000 soldiers under quarantine to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further into barracks after 11 soldiers were confirmed to have tested positive for the virus, the defence ministry said on Monday.

The ministry added that about 350 soldiers were believed to have been in contact with the infected or were showing symptoms, raising fears that the number of new cases could increase sharply in barracks. All military bases in the country have been in lockdown since three soldiers tested positive on Friday.

“We are basically placing all of the 350 soldiers under quarantine individually,” a ministry spokesman told a briefing. “About 7,000 soldiers are also under quarantine as a prevention measure as military barracks are all about collective life.”