A 34-year-old Army reservist who recently became a father has been identified as the third U.S. service member to die from COVID-19 complications.
Army Sgt. Simon Zamudio of Carpentersville, Illinois, died Friday from the illness, the military announced on Wednesday. He served as a unit-supply specialist and was assigned to the 371st Theater Movement Control Element at Fort Sheridan in Illinois and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. Zamudio’s mother, who was 70, also reportedly died from coronavirus-related complications on Memorial Day.
Zamudio is survived by his wife, Carina Zamudio-Ramos, and his infant daughter Xoe Zamudio.
Zamudio’s death marks the third from the coronavirus in the armed forces since the pandemic began. The last service member to die from COVID-19 was Navy Chief Petty Officer Robert Thacker Jr., 41, on April 13. Thacker was a sailor aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which experienced a massive coronavirus outbreak, infecting hundreds of service members.
In total, more than 6,100 service members have tested positive for COVID-19, with 168 of them being hospitalized, the Pentagon said Wednesday. In the United States, which has the most reported coronavirus cases in the world, there have been about 100,000 deaths and almost 1.7 million infections.
