WASHINGTON The first US military service member has died from the coronavirus, the Pentagon said on Monday, as it reported another spike in the number of infected troops. The service member was a New Jersey Army National Guardsman who tested positive for COVID-19 – the disease caused by the coronavirus – and had been in hospital since March 21. He died on Saturday, the Pentagon said. “Today is a sad day for the Department of Defense as we have lost our first American service member – active, reserve or Guard – to coronavirus,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement. “This is a stinging loss for our military community, and our condolences go out to his family, friends, civilian co-workers and the entire National Guard community.” The nationwide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed past 3,000 on Monday, the deadliest day yet. The New Jersey National Guard identified him as Captain Douglas Linn Hickok, a drilling guardsman in Medical Command and a civilian physician assistant, originally from Jackson, New Jersey. “Our thoughts are with his wife, children, and their family,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter. General Joseph Lengyel chief of the National Guard Bureau, lamented the death and said “all of us are likely to know people directly affected by this virus in the coming weeks.” Earlier on Monday, the Pentagon said that 568 troops had tested positive for the coronavirus, up from 280 on Thursday. More than 450 Defense Department civilians, contractors and dependents have also tested positive, it said. Reuters reported last week that the US military has decided to stop providing more granular data about coronavirus infections within its ranks, citing concern that the information might be used by adversaries as the virus spreads. The new policy, which the Pentagon detailed in a statement on Monday, appears to underscore US military concerns about the potential trajectory of the virus over the coming months – both at home and abroad. There has been a sharp increase in coronavirus cases among troops inside the United States, which officials tell Reuters have overtaken the number of cases among forces overseas in key branches of military. White House coronavirus task force response coordinator Deborah Birx said federal guidance was important because all states were facing the same levels of risk. “When you look at all of the states together, all of them are moving in exactly the same curves,” she said. “That’s why we really believe this needs to be federal guidance, so that every state understands that it may look like two cases, that become 20, that become 200, that become 2000, and that’s what we’re trying to prevent.” Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he expected a coronavirus outbreak in the fall as well, but he said the nation would be better prepared to respond. Trump said his administration would take a look at a suggestion from former Food and Drugs Commissioner Scott Gottlieb that all Americans wear a mask when out in public to help halt the spread of the virus. “After we get back into gear … I could see something like that happening for a period of time, but I would hope it would be a very limited period of time,” he said. Trump said the United States had begun to acquire personal protective equipment from overseas.—AP
