An Ohio-based Navy reservist and two Navy civilians have died from complications related to COVID-19 infections in the last week, the service announced today.
The sailor was assigned to Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) in Akron and was not activated at the time of his death at an area hospital, Navy Reserve spokesman Cmdr. Ben Tisdale told USNI News.
Public health officials confirmed to the service that a Navy civilian assigned Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division at Naval Support Activity Orlando, Fla., died on Nov. 30 from complications related to COVID-19. The service also announced that a Navy civilian assigned to Fleet Readiness Center East in Havelock, N.C., died on Nov. 25 due to complications from the disease.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and coworkers of the deceased during this difficult time,” the Navy said in a statement.
The service did not provide additional details on the civilian deaths. The Navy will identify the sailor on Thursday, Tisdale said.
The reservist is the second sailor to die from complications from the virus. Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr., 41, was assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and died in U.S. Naval Hospital Guam during the outbreak onboard that carrier. The carrier was sidelined for two months with an outbreak that resulted in more than 1,200 sailors infected with the novel coronavirus.
The Navy has been the service most visibly affected by the virus due to the March outbreak on TR. Since the start of the pandemic, the service has seen a cumulative total of 17,036 cases in sailors, with 2,817 active cases as of Wednesday, according to data from the service. Its civilian workforce has a cumulative total of 5,369 cases since the start of the pandemic and 1,329 active cases, with a total of 22 deaths from complications related to the infection.
Across the military, the Pentagon reports 80,592 total infections, 834 troops currently hospitalized, 49,472 recovered and 12 deaths, according to a Wednesday morning report from the Department of Defense.
