The Military’s Coronavirus Cases: The Latest Rundown

By Hope Hodge Seck

This story was last updated Nov. 9.

As COVID-19 continues to spread to communities across the country, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are providing daily updates on the number of confirmed and presumptive cases of the virus in the military community, as well as the number of tests administered to military members.

As of Nov. 9, officials said there have now been 91,892 total cases of COVID-19, also known as the novel coronavirus, within the DoD: 62,247 military, 9,063 dependents, 14,817 civilians and 5,765 Defense Department contractors. In addition, 41,914 military members, 6,157 dependents, 9,011 civilians and 3,845 contractors have recovered, and 111 DoD-connected personnel have died: nine troops, eight dependents, 68 civilians and 26 contractors.

Of the cases, 1,751 have required hospitalization, officials said: 769 service members, 593 civilians, 156 dependents and 233 contractors.

DoD began releasing service-specific case data April 3. There are now 23,249 Army cases; 10,248 Air Force cases; 7,646 Marine Corps cases; and 13,430 Navy cases. There are also 7,250 cases within the National Guard, and 424 among other elements.

The Defense Department announced the first military-connected coronavirus death March 22: a DoD contractor based in Falls Church, Virginia who worked for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The first military dependent died March 26 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

On March 30, the Defense Department announced the first death of a U.S. service member from the disease: Capt. Douglas Linn Hickok, 57, of the New Jersey Army National Guard.

On May 22, an Army reservist, 34-year-old Sgt. Simon Zamudio, also died from COVID-19.

On March 14, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the first VA-connected fatality due to coronavirus: a veteran in his 70s in the VA Portland, Oregon, health care system who had “underlying health issues.”

As of Nov. 9, VA is also tracking 82,353 total cumulative positive cases among veterans and VA employees. It began releasing totals for both populations May 4. It is no longer breaking the numbers down by presumptive positives and positives confirmed by the CDC. A total of 4,175 veterans tracked by the VA have died.

VA officials say they have administered more than 879,457 coronavirus tests to date, and add they believe they have enough to meet demand.

Troops or veterans who believe they have symptoms of the virus, which can include shortness of breath, fever and a cough, are advised to call their health care provider or VA facility right away. Military members are also advised to stay home and notify their supervisor.

— Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.