60 Oregon soldiers test positive for COVID as they return from overseas, officials say

Dozens of Oregon soldiers have tested positive for COVID-19 as they return from overseas, officials said.

About 400 National Guard members from the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment and Oregon’s 41st Infantry Brigade, were deployed to Kosovo, Stephen Bomar, a spokesman for the Oregon Military Department, told McClatchy News.

They returned from Kosovo to Fort Bliss in Texas starting in November. Since then, at least 60 service members have tested positive for the coronavirus and more than 130 were exposed, the department said.

“The entire team was tested and all that came back positive were quarantined accordingly,” Bomar said in an email. “More than 60 have tested positive as of (Friday) with the tests conducted more than a week ago. There was the potential of more than 130 exposed.”

The service members who tested negative will be tested multiple times to make sure they remain negative during the quarantine period and the demobilization process.

Those who have tested positive have been separated from the group and are quarantining, according to the Oregon Military Department.

“These service members are part of the second largest mobilization of Oregon troops since World War II and it certainly would be a great way to close out 2020 by having them home for the holidays,” Bomar said.

On Monday, Oregon congressional delegation members voiced concerns about the level of care service members were receiving, The Oregonian reported.

“Our concern for the health and wellbeing of the soldiers and their families is of the utmost priority as they reintegrate back into their communities,” the delegation wrote, according to The Oregonian. “We have questions as to their care at Ft. Bliss.”

As of Friday, 87,488 people in the U.S. military had tested positive for COVID-19, and 13 had died, according to the U.S. Department of Defense

This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 2:24 PM with the headline "60 Oregon soldiers test positive for COVID as they return from overseas, officials say."