A military spouse on Joint Base Langley-Eustis died from complications of the novel coronavirus, the base announced Thursday.
The spouse's service member has also tested positive for COVID-19 and is still in isolation while being treated, officials said.
The base in Virginia has not released the name, age or gender of the military spouse yet to give the family time to grieve. The military's first dependent death comes a week after JBLE announced its first COVID-19 case: a medical provider at Fort Eustis McDonald Army Health Center who had recently returned from international travel.
"Our hearts are heavy, I extend my deepest condolences to the friends and family of our lost teammate," JBLE commander Air Force Col. Clinton Ross said in a statement. "My thoughts also remain with those who continue to fight this invisible enemy. I ask you to support each other during this difficult time, while we continue to work together to mitigate the impacts across the installation."
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Ross also urged that base residents to take the viral threat seriously.
About 650 service members, dependents, contractors and Defense Department civilian employees have been diagnosed with the virus, according to DoD numbers released Friday. The DoD announced its first novel coronavirus-related death of a contractor Sunday.
The joint base is now at Health Protection Condition Charlie, limiting access to the base and cancelling several community events. JBLE officials said as of March 26, it has 5 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
-- Dorothy Mills-Gregg can be reached at dorothy.mills-gregg@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DMillsGregg.
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