Coronavirus cases in the military doubled the week ending Oct. 23 over the prior week, and four more deaths have occurred as of Monday, according to Pentagon statistics and analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The Department is experiencing a third wave of Covid-19, as is the national population,” the CSIS International Security Program report stated, citing a week-over-week increase in cases of 98%, up to 731, for the week ending on Friday.
Over the weekend, another coronavirus death occurred, bringing the number of Department of Defense personnel who have succumbed to the virus to 104, including eight active-duty service members.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on the rising case numbers.
While the military has refrained from revealing specific hot spots and ships with outbreaks, the CSIS study found that three sailors had tested positive on the USS Roosevelt in October and several members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the northern Pacific Ocean had also tested positive, leading to further quarantines.
The Roosevelt aircraft carrier infamously was forced to port in Guam in March after a rapid contagion tore across the supercarrier, infecting nearly 1,000 sailors of a crew of 4,865. One sailor died in the contagion, and its captain was dismissed.
Coronavirus cases across all segments of the Pentagon workforce are on the rise, including active-duty military, civilian, dependent, and contractors. The highest spikes reported by CSIS have occurred in the Marine Corps and National Guard, followed by the Air Force, Army, and Navy, which is the service closest to flattening its curve.
Still, overall numbers remain highest in the nation’s largest service, the Army, which has suffered 20,509 cases, and the Navy, with 12,006 cases.
More than 80,000 DOD personnel have been affected by the virus among a population of nearly 3 million. Some 17,813 active-duty service members are currently sickened, with 736 currently hospitalized.
