{"id":56504,"date":"2020-04-07T22:39:12","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T22:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/04\/07\/veteran-affairs-coronavirus-cases-top-3000-nationwide-deaths-near-150\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:59:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:59:05","slug":"veteran-affairs-coronavirus-cases-top-3000-nationwide-deaths-near-150","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/veterans\/2020\/04\/07\/veteran-affairs-coronavirus-cases-top-3000-nationwide-deaths-near-150\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Affairs coronavirus cases top 3,000 nationwide, deaths near 150"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since Veterans Affairs leaders<\/a> reported the first death of a VA patient from coronavirus in mid-March, the number of positive cases \u2014 and fatalities \u2014 in the department\u2019s health system has risen dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of April 7, there have been 144 patients who have died from the illness. That number increased by 19 from the day before. On March 30, the total was less than 20.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VA officials have offered only partial details of the deaths, but until this weekend all of the fatalities had been among patients aged 50 or older. Officials from the New Orleans VA Medical Center, one of the hardest hit in the country by the illness, announced that a patient in his or her 40s died there on Sunday. No other information was given.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across all VA sites, 3,038 patients in VA care have tested positive for the fast-spreading virus. That\u2019s about 11 percent of all of the cases tested by the department, and has nearly tripled in the last 10 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\t