Navy sailor in Virginia dies of COVID-19

A Virginia Beach-based Navy sailor has died of COVID-19, the service said Tuesday, marking the military’s 23rd death during the pandemic.

The sailor, who was assigned to Assault Craft Unit 4 based at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, died Monday after testing positive for the virus Friday and being admitted to a civilian hospital in Norfolk, Va., Saturday, the Navy said in a statement.

“We mourn the loss of our shipmate; our thoughts and prayers are with the sailor’s family, friends and coworkers during this difficult time,” the Navy said.

The Navy is withholding the sailor’s identity until 24 hours after the family is notified.

Other sailors who were in contact with the sailor were notified and “are taking the appropriate precautions,” the statement added.

The sailor is the Navy’s fourth COVID-19 death this month and fifth active-duty death overall during the pandemic.

In addition to the sailors, two active-duty Army soldiers have been killed by the coronavirus, as well as eight guardsmen and eight reservists.

The latest military death comes as the United States is marking more than 500,000 American deaths from COVID-19.

For the Pentagon, 288 people connected to the department have died as of Monday, according to data maintained on the Defense Department website.

In addition to the military deaths, 191 civilians, 10 dependents and 65 contractors have died, according to the Pentagon data.

Overall, the Pentagon has reported 244,990 coronavirus cases as of Monday. That includes 159,546 in the military, 45,479 among civilians, 24,514 among dependents and 15,451 among contractors.

Of the military cases, 1,390 service members have been hospitalized over the course of the pandemic and 116,869 have recovered.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, the Defense Department has received more than 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and has administered 868,322 of those. That includes 238,960 people who have gotten the full two-dose regimen, according to the CDC.

Pentagon officials revealed last week that nearly a third of service members who have been offered the vaccine have refused to take it.