COVID-19 in Military Recruits

摘要

By day 14 of an on-base quarantine, 1.9% of previously negative recruits were PCR positive; none were identified by daily temperature and symptom screening. Military bases were sites of major outbreaks during the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic,and military recruits undergoing basic training suffered high rates of both group A streptococcal and meningococcal infections until effective control measures were developed between the 1950s and 1970s. Given this history, the U.S. Marine Corps instituted public health measures in the spring of 2020 to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections among recruits undergoing basic training and now provide an initial report on the program.