Seoul, Oct 5 (IANS): At least 36 South Korean service members have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at an Army unit in Pocheon city, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.

According to the Ministry, of the 36, three were first confirmed to be infected on Sunday which prompted all other members of the unit to undergo tests, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Later, the 33 others were tested positive.

The military and health authorities are tracing their routes of infection, and the exact cause has yet to be identified.

But one infected officer had visited Seoul last month, according to officials.

"We are tracing where he has been as part of our investigation into the infection route," Yonhap quoted a Ministry official as saying.

"Except for the official, no one in the unit has gone on vacation since September."

The Ministry had imposed a ban in August restricting service members to go on vacations, as well as their off-installation outings.

The restrictions are supposed to be in place until October 11.

On Monday, South Korea added 73 new cases, raising the total caseload to 24,091, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

One fatality was also reported which increased the death toll to 422.