A Polish delegation, assigned to the 37th Air Defense Squadron, visits with U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command on Aug. 4, 2020, in Baumholder, Germany. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize the Polish soldiers with the patriot missile system and the Table VIII Gunnery qualification. (Andrew Mallett/10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command)
A Polish delegation, assigned to the 37th Air Defense Squadron, visits with U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command on Aug. 4, 2020, in Baumholder, Germany. The purpose of the visit was to familiarize the Polish soldiers with the patriot missile system and the Table VIII Gunnery qualification. (Andrew Mallett/10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command)
U.S. Military Academy at West Point Class of 2023 cadets learn how to conduct fire missions with the help of 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division soldiers as part of their Cadet Field Training, July 21, 2020. (Matthew Moeller/United States Military Academy)
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WASHINGTON — The Army surpassed 10,000 coronavirus cases Friday as overall military cases now exceed 30,000, according to the Pentagon.
The Army has had 10,245 cases, an increase of 548 cases since Monday, according to Pentagon data, which is posted online every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The Army announced Tuesday that the fourth military death from the virus was Spc. Curtis Fort, a 61-year old Army reservist from Virginia.
Last month, Thomas McCaffery, the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said the Defense Department is seeing increases in military cases in locations where there has been a rise in civilian cases. The states with the highest number of cases in the last seven days include Texas, Florida, California and Georgia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These states also have several military installations.
The Navy has had 7,166 cases as of Friday, the second-highest number among the services, an increase of 278 cases since Monday. The Marine Corps has had 3,746 cases as of Friday, an increase of 301 cases since Monday. The Air Force has had 4,789 cases of the virus, an increase of 194 cases since Monday. The National Guard, which has troops deployed throughout the country for pandemic response, has had 4,151 cases, an increase of 294 cases since Monday.
The military as a whole has had 30,392 cases of the coronavirus as of Friday and 510 service members have been hospitalized.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs said last week that the rate of positive coronavirus cases in the military is slightly lower than the American average in all age groups except for troops between the ages of 18 and 24. The Pentagon has not released those rates.
As of Friday, the United States has had 4.9 million cases of the coronavirus, the highest number of cases in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 160,000 people have died from the virus in the U.S., which is also the most worldwide.
