Analysis / Covid-19

Covid-19 Response Update: November 6-November 13

Combating Covid-19 Series

This is CSIS’s weekly roundup of major updates on the military and the novel coronavirus since Friday, November 6. It explores what the military has done to combat Covid-19 and how the military has in turn been affected by the virus.

New Department of Defense (DoD) cases of Covid-19 rose again this week with the 7-day average increasing by 25 percent over the previous week to 1,073. DoD new cases are continuing to follow the rise in cases among the U.S. population. This Friday’s reported cases are again at the highest they have been since the start of the pandemic. Deaths rose by one this week to reach 112 as of this Friday, November 13.

Major Updates

  • November 6: Officials at Fort Bliss, Texas have declared a public health emergency as Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the surrounding El Paso area.
  • November 10: Tennessee National Guardsmen have administered over 500,000 Covid-19 tests in support of the state’s fight against the novel coronavirus.
  • November 12: Seven US military bases have reinstated travel restrictions as a result of increasing Covid-19 cases in their local areas.
  • November 13: A study released by the New England Journal of Medicine found that enlisted Navy sailors on ships were more likely than officers to test positive for Covid-19 due to sailors’ tight working and living conditions.

Military Cases of Covid-19

How DoD cases have been trending over time is broken down below, by new cases; total cases; active cases in the DoD; and across the military services.

Methodological note: 1) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday totals are divided across the intervening days and weekends since DoD Covid-19 updates are only released during the work week on a M-W-F basis. 2) Adjustments were made on April 9 and April 15 when new cases where negative. These days were totaled and divided by the previous day to account for the correction. 3) DoD appeared to change the way cases were reported between April 15-Aprilt 16. A resulting spike in cases on April 16 was divided over the two prior days to account for this methodological shift.

This weekly update is made possible by the International Security Program at CSIS.

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

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