South Korea’s military said Sunday that it will screen all new conscripts for the novel coronavirus, starting Monday for eight weeks to test about 6,300 draftees a week.

The decision comes in response to the recent surge in infections among young people linked to a cluster that emerged in Seoul’s nightclubs and bars in the Itaewon neighborhood.

Before trainee soldiers join boot camps, they will be swabbed and their specimens will be pooled together and tested for COVID-19 infections. Group tests were chosen over individual screenings due to the huge volume to screen, the military said, adding each sample will be individually tested if any group tests positive.

Meanwhile, 83 draftees who had been to Itaewon prior to enlistment tested negative for the pathogen. The military tested them right after it found out a staff sergeant working at the Defense Ministry compound near Itaewon, and a captain stationed in Gyeonggi Province -- both of whom had visited Itaewon -- were infected.

The military has so far reported 51 infections and 39 recoveries, while 214 people remain in quarantine.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)