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In Wake Of 13-Year-Old's COVID Death, Fort Sill Strengthens Mandatory Mask Policy

Facebook / US Army Fort Sill

Following the death of the 13-year-old daughter of a service member stationed there, the U.S. Army's Fort Sill in Comanche County has announced a strengthening of its mandatory mask policy.

"In order to maintain operational readiness and to protect the force, families, and the entire community, Fort Sill has aligned with the local community policy on expanding the wear [sic] of facial coverings," reads a Tuesday press release. "As of July 20, all personnel on Fort Sill (service members, DA civilians, contractors and visitors) shall wear a mask covering the nose and mouth consistent with CDC guidelines when inside any public building or workspace."

Previously, masks were required in just certain buildings on post.

The policy applies to all persons 6 years or older; exemptions from the policy require a note from a physician attesting to an individual's disability or medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask. Other exemptions include for individuals eating or drinking and for individuals in their home or barracks.

A Fort Sill spokesperson said Wednesday that the installation has had a total of 269 confirmed cases so far during the pandemic, with 132 of those considered active and 137 considered recovered. That's up from 217 total cases as of last Tuesday, according to Commanding General Kenneth Kamper in a July 14th virtual town hall event.

Kamper said last week that extensive contact tracing was being done in conjunction with the Comanche County Health Department for all individuals who had contact with the family of the girl who died. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether any of the new cases were discovered during this testing and tracing effort.

At the July 14th town hall, Col. David Zinnante, who heads Fort Sill's Reynolds Army Health Clinic, said the installation lacks the resources to perform as many tests as he would like. 

"We'd love to test more people, but we simply don't have the supplies to test everybody," Zinnante said.

Chris joined Public Radio Tulsa as a news anchor and reporter in April 2020. He’s a graduate of Hunter College and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, both at the City University of New York.
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