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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAs COVID-19 sweeps across the South, the Army finds it's not immune
WASHINGTON The U.S. Army is facing a significant COVID-19 challenge as infection rates soar across the South and Southeast, where most of the services installations are located. And now the disease is having a major impact on the Armys second-largest installation, according to a briefing obtained by Yahoo News.
The briefing, dated July 20 and prepared for senior leaders at Fort Campbell, Ky., home to the 101st Airborne Division, shows that on that day, about one in five soldiers almost a thousand troops in total in one of the divisions three infantry brigades combat teams were unavailable for training, either because they had tested positive for COVID-19 or because they had been in contact with someone who might have had the disease.
There has been an impact on the Army from the coronaviruss surge across the parts of the country where most soldiers are located, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Scott Dingle told an online Association of the U.S. Army audience Wednesday. We are also experiencing the same things [as surrounding communities], but not in extremely large numbers.
As of July 31, there were 9,276 active-duty Army personnel with COVID-19 (an increase of almost 400 in 48 hours). However, because the Defense Department forbids the Army from publicizing the number of cases in any individual unit or installation, it is almost impossible to judge how the service is handling this summers steep rise in cases in states like Texas and North Carolina, home to the Armys two other most populous posts.
https://news.yahoo.com/as-covid-sweeps-across-the-south-the-army-finds-its-not-immune-090035831.html
My niece's husband is currently going through Army basic training at Fort Benning.
mercuryblues
(14,537 posts)1st 2 weeks there, monitored quarantine and tested . If anyone tests positive they get put in isolation. If more than x amount of people test positive the whole unit goes into isolation, even if they are testing negative. There have been some units in quarantine for 6 weeks. All graduation events have been cancelled. The actual grad ceremonies are live streamed.
When you go to your duty station, you are placed in quarantine again. Soldiers are forbidden to travel to hot spots. If a base is in a hot spot, soldiers can not go more than 50 miles from base. I think think this rule is for those who live off base.
these and more restrictions are in place. Yet, they have a Covid problem. So the natural choice is to open up the schools because it's safe.