U.S. Marine tested positive for coronavirus in Virginia
The human coronavirus is shown in a file image made from a transmission electron microscopy view. (Photo by Cavallini James/BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - A U.S. Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Virginia tested positive for coronavirus, the Pentagon announced Saturday.
He is the first Marine to contract the disease and the third American service member to become infected.
The patient is currently being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
"A U.S Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir, VA tested positive today for COVID-19 and is currently being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. The Marine recently returned from overseas where he was on official business. Secretary Esper and the White House have been briefed," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Rath Hoffman said.
In addition to being one of the first cases confirmed in Virginia, the patient is the first Marine to be diagnosed with coronavirus - or COVID-19.
The Pentagon confirmed last week that a member of the U.S. military tested positive on Wednesday in South Korea, and a U.S. Navy sailor tested positive in Naples, Italy on Saturday. A U.S. Army soldier deployed to Kuwait was also being monitored for coronavirus.
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The first infected soldier, who is a member of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), is stationed in Daegu. His wife and a small child are among those who were also infected.
Officials said the Marine recently returned from overseas where he had been for business.