The U.S. Central Command headquarters has confirmed its first sailor has tested positive for the coronavirus, but the sailor did not stop at the MacDill Air Force base.
The headquarters in Tampa, Florida, announced the positive test Saturday, after the sailor returned from overseas.
"The sailor had returned to the United States from overseas travel on March 15, and immediately entered precautionary quarantine at his residence without stopping at U.S. Central Command headquarters or MacDill AFB," Capt. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. CENTCOM, wrote in a statement, according to CNBC.
"Upon developing symptoms on March 18, 2020, he called ahead to the MacDill AFB Health Clinic, and was met outside the facility by medical professionals for his test. His test returned positive on March 20."
Central Command is the U.S. military's combatant command that oversees the wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. MacDill is also home to the elite U.S. Special Operations Command.
The Pentagon reported 124 known cases of coronavirus Friday within the Department of Defense. The virus has infected more than 290,000 worldwide, though many have recovered. In the U.S. more than 22,000 cases have been reported so far.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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