Coronavirus cases in the military community surpass 200, as Pentagon announces death of DOD contractor

WASHINGTON — Cases of coronavirus in the military community neared 250 worldwide, including the Defense Department’s first pandemic-linked death and spurring new measures taken at installations in the United States, Pentagon officials said Monday.

Officials at bases in Alaska and Hawaii announced new cases of the fast-spreading virus among troops there, and Pentagon officials said 137 service members worldwide had tested positive for the disease as of early Monday. Seven of those service members were hospitalized and four had recovered from the virus, according a Pentagon news release.

Other cases included 45 Defense Department civilian workers, 35 military dependents and 32 contractors, the Pentagon said. One of the contractors, a man in his 60s who worked in Arlington, Va., died Saturday, marking the first reported DOD-related death, officials said.

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Mark Esper raised the health protection level at the military’s headquarters to its second-highest warning level, indicating “substantial risk and sustained community transmission.” The move to Health Protection Condition Charlie comes after several other Washington-area bases shifted to HPCON Charlie during the weekend.

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