How COVID-19 is impacting Marine Corps basic training at Parris Island — where some recruits tested positive for the virus

• The COVID-19 crisis is changing the way future United States Marine Corps soldiers are trained at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, SC.
• According to anonymous defense officials who spoke to the Washington Post, between 25-50 positive cases, some of which include recruits in training, have been confirmed at the Depot.
• Beginning March 30, the Recruit Depot suspended the shipping of new recruits to Parris Island. When shipping resumes, new recruits will be held in a 14-day "staging" period before they begin processing ahead of training that will include multiple medical screenings each day.
• Due to the crisis, physical distancing measures are being implemented in dining facilities and "squad bays" where recruits sleep.
• However, training will continue for recruits already in Parris Island, with physical distancing measures being implemented at the discretion of the drill instructors.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Following is a transcript of the video.

Bryan McDonnell: COVID is very serious. We're taking it seriously. Obviously, it's having an impact like it is everywhere else in the nation. And that doesn't mean that we're not prepared and we're not working actively like most Americans are to mitigate this thing.

Graham Flanagan: On March 30, The Washington Post reported that, according to anonymous defense officials, between 20 and 50 positive cases have been confirmed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, South Carolina, where about 20,000 Marine recruits graduate from a 13-week training program every year.

McDonnell: We did have an increase in COVID cases among our recruit population. Based on that, we had everyone they were in contact with already in quarantine, so they were quarantined immediately.

Flanagan: With the number of confirmed cases rising, the Pentagon ordered individual military bases to stop providing specific numbers of COVID-19 cases to the press and public "out of a concern for operational security with regard to readiness."

McDonnell: Capt. McDonnell.

Flanagan: Hey, Capt. McDonnell, this is Graham Flanagan. We spoke on the phone with Recruit Depot spokesperson Capt. Bryan McDonnell about how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting recruits during training.

McDonnell: COVID is very serious. We're taking it seriously, as is the rest of the DOD, but it's one element of uncertainty in a world that has more factors than that, for sure, which is why the Marine Corps exists.

Flanagan: The footage of training in this video was shot when we visited Parris Island in October of 2019.

Drill sergeant: Get on the yellow footprints right now!

Recruit: Aye, sir!

Flanagan: When new recruits arrive at Parris Island, they normally step onto these yellow footprints, which symbolizes the beginning of their training. Now, amid the crisis, all incoming recruits undergo a 14-day staging period before they set foot on the yellow footprints. During staging, they are medically screened multiple times a day.

McDonnell: Regardless of whether someone's asymptomatic or not, when they arrive on the Depot, they'll be in a holding pattern for two weeks until they come out clear on the other side of that.

Flanagan: But new recruits won't be arriving at Parris Island for at least a week. As of March 30, the shipment of new recruits is temporarily suspended. According to the Recruit Depot, new physical-distancing measures are being implemented, like in the squad bays, where recruits sleep, there must now be six feet in between each rack, or bed. Recruits also practice physical distancing in the chow hall, where more space is being opened up and utilized for recruits to safely eat their meals. But training will go on. And as you can see from these pictures taken on March 24, some exercises require close physical contact, like martial arts. According to McDonnell, physical distancing is being implemented in training at the discretion of the instructors.

McDonnell: There are folks in various stages of training that have been here for weeks. It's been assessed based on medical input and various other factors that their overall risk of COVID exposure is quite low relative to folks who are coming onto the Depot. But people also need to be trained how to fight, how to shoot, how to swim, to do all those things that we do as Marines.

Flanagan: Graduations like this one will continue to occur, but they're closed to all visitors. According to McDonnell, physical distancing will be implemented into marching formations, with space between each graduate. Following graduation, the new Marines will ship out of Parris Island and head to the training that subsequently occurs on other bases.

McDonnell: Companies currently on the Depot right now, the plan is that they will continue to train, in a modified and responsible way. COVID is one uncertain factor in a world full of uncertainty, which is why we have a Marine Corps. So it's definitely important to us that we take care of our recruits. It's certainly not easy, but I would attest that it's not easy for most folks around America trying to figure out how to grapple with this.

Read the original article on Insider