"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," said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. "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 news of this loss strengthens our resolve to work ever more closely with
our interagency partners to stop the spread of COVID-19."
Starting in January the Department of Defense has adopted
dramatic mitigation measures to protect service members, civilian employees,
contractors and their families from Coronavirus. These include mandating social
distancing, termination of certain work and training activities and providing
testing and care for our community members.
