US Military May Bar Recruits With Previous COVID-19 Diagnosis From Service

The Pentagon was considering barring potential recruits with a past COVID-19 diagnoses from service, a memo released online shows. The memo was shared by Twitter user Nathanial Free and was confirmed as authentic to reports by a Pentagon spokesperson.

The memo, which appeared Monday, reads:

“During the prescreen process, a reported history of confirmed COVID-19 will be annotated as “Considered Disqualifying” (CD) and documented in Section VII of the DD Form 2807-2. The DoDI 6130.03 section 5.03.a. will be cited with the AP approved ICD-10 code Z22.9. 'Processing Not Justified' (PNJ) will not be used as a prescreen determination for an applicant with a history of confirmed COVID-19.”

It then states if a previous COVID-19 diagnosis is confirmed during the medical examination and interview, applicants are “permanently” disqualified from service.

The Pentagon spokesperson told reporters Wednesday the action was being considered because there are still questions about the long-term effects of coronavirus. Defense Secretary Mark Esper echoed this sentiment during a press briefing Tuesday at the Pentagon, specifically the concern over coronavirus carriers who are asymptomatic.

“One of the challenges that we know is asymptomatic transmission of the disease,” Esper told reporters. “It's something we have known for quite a while but what we didn't really appreciate until the TR [USS Theodore Roosevelt] was the fact we are experiencing very high rates in the military.”

This has been especially problematic on the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which has been a hotbed for coronavirus cases within the U.S. military. Cases on the aircraft carrier continued to mount as more sailors began testing positive and found to be asymptomatic. Around 1,100 sailors onboard have tested positive for coronavirus and one has died.

The spokesperson said the measure was an “interim guidance” that could be changed in the future. They also said that it was possible for an applicant to get a “service waiver” to join despite their medical history.

“Anybody that has been hospitalized with COVID-19 will be medically disqualified and would need a service waiver to join the military,” the spokesperson told The Hill.