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Close shot of roses laying on top and wrapped in American flag

Close shot of roses laying on top and wrapped in American flag (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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WASHINGTON — A member of the Texas Air National Guard is the ninth service member to have died from the coronavirus as the military nears 59,000 cases of the disease, according to a spokesman with the National Guard Bureau.

The service member is the third Guard member to have died from the virus this year. No other information about the individual — such as the person’s name or rank — was provided Wednesday by the Pentagon or the National Guard. The death was first reported only as an increase in the Pentagon’s coronavirus case chart, which was updated Wednesday.

The last service member to die from the virus was Sgt. 1st Class Mike A. Markins, 48, an Army reservist from Vine Grove, Ky., on Sept. 24.

Five Army reservists have died from the coronavirus this year, as well as two Army National Guard members. An active-duty sailor assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt also died from the virus. Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, died April 13 at a naval hospital on Guam.

The military has had 58,968 cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday, according to the Pentagon’s cumulative case chart posted online. About 755 service members have been hospitalized and 39,012 have recovered.

The United Stations continues to struggle with the pandemic as cases in the country reached 9.4 million on Wednesday, the highest in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. also has the highest number of deaths in the world at 233,265 as of Wednesday.

Kenney.Caitlin@stripes.com Twitter: @caitlinmkenney

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