{"id":45953,"date":"2020-10-27T19:07:02","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T19:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/27\/army-confident-in-its-covid-19-precautions-as-soldiers-train-amid-fall-surge\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:43:09","slug":"army-confident-in-its-covid-19-precautions-as-soldiers-train-amid-fall-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2020\/10\/27\/army-confident-in-its-covid-19-precautions-as-soldiers-train-amid-fall-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"Army confident in its COVID-19 precautions as soldiers train amid fall surge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Army training<\/a> and medical leaders say the service\u2019s public health measures are sufficient to stem surges in coronavirus cases among soldiers as the global pandemic trends into the fall and winter months, a period of the time known for increases in viral spread as people cluster together indoors for the holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combined with re-openings across the country and so-called lock-down fatigue, the United States has experienced a 40 percent increase in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients<\/a> over the past month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increased testing, isolating positive cases and contact tracing, as well delegating the responsibility to increase health protection levels to installation commanders, are among the measures that Army leaders say will help them get through the fall and winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At basic training locations, the service has adopted a new model that breaks trainees down into smaller groups for two weeks of controlled monitoring before they can proceed with training, said Army Center for Initial Military Training<\/a> commander Maj. Gen. Lonnie Hibbard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs of today, there\u2019s less than 3 percent of those trainees who have tested positive for COVID-19,\u201d Hibbard told reporters by telephone Monday. \u201cWe do multiple screenings prior to them arriving at one of our four Army training centers. Then once those trainees arrive at those training centers, we do 100 percent COVID testing on all new recruits before they start.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army, which is the largest of the armed services, has reported the most COVID-19 cases within the Defense Department since the pandemic began. There were more than 20,500 cases as of Monday, according to Pentagon data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overseas, the situation has been similar, with COVID-19 cases rising in places like Stuttgart, Germany, home to U.S. Army Europe. A sharp increase in cases there triggered German officials to raise the health threat in the city to their highest level and to order new restrictions on social gatherings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do continue to conduct individual through brigade-level collective training here in Europe,\u201d said Brig. Gen. Christopher Norrie, who leads 7th Army Training Command on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\t