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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 11/17/2020 10:24:42

Good Morning.

How is the coronavirus in your state? I bet you haven't thought much about the US Military and how they're doing with it - except perhaps in the context of the National Guard setting up field hospitals or maybe helping out at a Coronavirus test site.

But they're dying, too.


It is most definitely under the radar, but nearly 100,000 military personnel have tested positive - and ten have died. The rate is lower than the general population, but still...


The U.S. military community has been widely affected: As of Monday, nearly 100,000 people affiliated with the Defense Department had tested positive for the virus, including 67,433 military personnel, 10,026 dependents, 16,149 civilian employees and 6,221 defense contractors.

In addition to the 10 service members, 69 civilians, eight dependents and 26 contractors have died.

The Army -- the largest of the services -- has had the highest number of cases since the pandemic began: 24,903 as of Monday. The Navy has had the second highest, 14,495, followed by the Air Force, 11,393, and the Marine Corps, 8,266. The National Guard has had 7,917 confirmed cases.

COVID-19 infection rates, determined by the number of cases divided by the total number serving, have ticked upward for nearly all the services in the past week. The Army's infection rate is .05, up from .033; the Navy's is .043, also up from .033; and the Marine Corps' is .044, up from .033.

The Air Force continues to have the lowest infection rate, .034, up from .022 last week.


The V.A. is also dealing with an increase in cases, like all hospitals, but curiously, their numbers are rather low. Perhaps veterans are seeking treatment through civilian channels?


Active coronavirus cases among Department of Veterans Affairs patients reached their 14th consecutive day of record-high levels over the weekend, surpassing 10,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Before November, the total active cases spread across the department’s medical centers had not gone above 6,400 at any point since the first coronavirus cases in America were identified in early March.

But VA’s active cases — individuals in contact with the department who have neither recovered from the virus or died from it — have risen steadily since mid September, and skyrocketed this month.

On Sunday, department officials reported 10,362 active cases, up 68 percent over the last two weeks and 252 percent over the last two months.

The sharp increases in active cases come as multiple states across the county have reported their own record-high infection rates. More than 11 million citizens nationwide — about one in every 30 Americans — has tested positive for the virus at some point in the last eight months.

In an interview with Military Times last week, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said the increased rate of infections within the VA health care system is inevitable if the virus numbers in the rest of the country continues to grow.

“Our veterans don’t live in a cocoon … where you can block yourself off from the rest of the world. They live in the communities,” he said.


But of course - the United States government is still calling for local governments to be overthrown.


CNN) – White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Scott Atlas urged Michiganders to “rise up” against new health restrictions.

“The only way this stops is if people rise up,” Atlas tweeted on Sunday. “You get what you accept.”

Atlas added the hashtags “FreedomMatters” and “StepUp.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is instituting a three-week pause on high-risk activities. Atlas tweeted shortly after the measures were announced.

Whitmer said she’s following the advice of medical experts as U.S. coronavirus cases top 11 million.

Atlas' tweet is likely to increase tension between the White House and the Democratic governor, who was the target of a recent kidnapping plot.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called Atlas' comment “disappointing” and “irresponsible.”


It is another day closer to January 20th, which obviously can't get here soon enough.





 
 

9 comments (Latest Comment: 11/17/2020 20:37:00 by livingonli)
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