An Army Reserve soldier is the third service member who has died from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), a defense official confirmed on Tuesday.
No information about the soldier was immediately available. Military Times reporter Meghann Myers first tweeted on Tuesday that the latest service member who has died from the coronavirus is a soldier.
The soldier member likely died after May 22, when the Defense Department reported two service members who had died from the disease.
The soldier’s death was included in the Pentagon’s latest figures of how many Defense Department personnel have been sickened by COVID-19.
The other two troops who have died as a result of the coronavirus are Army Capt. Douglas Linn Hickok, of the New Jersey National Guard, and Navy Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker, who served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
As of Tuesday, a total of 35 Defense Department personnel have died from the coronavirus, including 18 Defense Department civilians, five dependents, and nine contractors.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as more information becomes available.