Dozens of newly enlisted soldiers at an army training camp have tested positive for COVID-19, as a fourth epidemic wave gains traction in South Korea.

According to the Defense Ministry, as of 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, 37 rookie conscripts at the training center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed with the coronavirus. 

Thirty-six of them belong to the same unit and were in the midst of basic training at the base, following two different COVID-19 tests as well as completing their mandatory two-week quarantine.

Out of some 400 tested from the unit, about 90 have so far tested negative. Around 200 others are still waiting for their results.

One remaining conscript, who belongs to a different unit, also tested positive during his stint in quarantine after a family member was confirmed as a patient.

The latest cluster raised cumulative infections among the military population to one-thousand-73.