As of 5 a.m. Monday morning, 37 individuals within the Department of Defense community have tested positive for COVID-19. This includes 18 active duty service members, 13 dependents, 3 civilians, and 3 contractors.
Jonathan Rath Hoffman, assistant defense secretary for public affairs, and Air Force Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Paul Friedrichs, Joint Staff surgeon, held a Pentagon press briefing on Monday to provide updated numbers and testing capabilities.
The DoD is operating 13 testing labs globally, and 459 tests have been conducted — but Friedrichs and Hoffman could not provide additional details on where specifically. Concerns have been raised regarding military personnel in Afghanistan who are exhibiting symptoms but have reportedly not had access to testing kits.
Service members in Afghanistan might not have coronavirus tests — but they have symptoms
Additional briefings with combatant commanders throughout the week are expected to shed light on prevention operations ongoing in different locations across the force.
Hoffman communicated that the DoD stands ready to assist the civilian medical population in any way that it can — but he also emphasized that, across the country, military hospitals account for only roughly two to three percent of the total number of hospital beds.
"The good news right now is — as our country as a whole is responding to this outbreak —we have not seen huge demand signal coming into the DoD," Friedrich said. "What we have tried to be very clear about is if folks need help, let us know what it is...We can offer here's what we can do to meet that requirement with the capabilities that we have and how quickly they can move."
The solution to coronavirus is going to be a whole government approach," Hoffman said. "And DoD is going to be a part of that."
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