As a U.S. Marine stationed at the Pentagon, Three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt underway in the Pacific Ocean were diagnosed with COVID-19, U.S. Forces Step up to the plate to take care of Troops, Americans

A U.S. Marine stationed at the Pentagon tested positive for COVID-19 on March 24. DOD Combined features by Terri Moon Kronk, Todd Lopez, official releases

The Marine is in isolation at his home and will undergo further assessment by health professionals. His last day in the Pentagon was March 13.

The Marine followed U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines and DoD directives by isolating himself when an immediate family member began to show symptoms.  Once he became ill, he contacted his assigned medical facility.  

His workspace has been cleaned by a Pentagon response team and a thorough contact investigation is underway to mitigate risk and preserve the health of the workforce at the Pentagon.

Three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt underway in the Pacific Ocean were diagnosed with COVID-19 and were evacuated from the ship, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas B. Modly said.

“We’ve identified all the folks they’ve had contact with, and we’re quarantining them as well,” Modly said at a Pentagon news conference today, where he appeared with Navy Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations. “This is an example of how we are able to keep our ships deployed at seas and underway, even with active COVID-19 cases. Our force remains on watch throughout the world [during] this crisis, and they’re continuing to execute their primary mission under the National Defense Strategy.”

Navy ships are sailing, Navy planes are flying, and training is still happening to safeguard U.S. national interests and those of the nation’s allies and partners around the world, Modly said. 

“Right now, the modeling that we’re able to do is for planning, but it has not yet sufficiently firm to say that it’s predictive in nature,” Air Force Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Paul Friedrichs told reporters at the Pentagon today. “We’ve not tried to predict that we’re going to see a hotspot here, or we’re going to see X number there. We used it for broad planning. Like in the community, if the outbreak occurs and X percent of people are infected over time, what does that mean as far as health care requirements?”

“The approach that we’ve taken, as we do our modeling and as we look at where to place capabilities, is based on how do we balance the immediate needs, either for a DOD population, or as in the case of New York — where we’re sending the [hospital ship USNS] Comfort and two of our field hospitals — the needs of other citizens and supporting that whole-of-government approach,” Friedrichs said. “It is a balancing act, there’s no question about it. Our health care system across the United States is not designed or sized to deal with a pandemic.”