43 National Guard Troops in DC for Inauguration Test Positive for COVID-19

15 Jan 2021
Military.com | By Matthew Cox
As thousands of National Guard troops flood into Washington, D.C., coronavirus cases have spiked among them.

Of the roughly 7,000 Guardsmen currently deployed to the District of Columbia, there are now 43 positive cases of COVID-19, Air Force Capt. Tinashe Machona, spokesman for the D.C. National Guard, said in a statement.

The spike in cases comes as the Pentagon has increased the Guard authorization for inauguration security in D.C. to 25,000, a jump of 10,000 over the past 24 hours.

But the D.C. Guard, which is in command of incoming forces, does not believe that the troops contracted the virus while in the district.