Rich Trefz's WP Test Site

The U.S. Army declined to say who may have exposed Cavoli to the virus inadvertently or whether Farina was at the conference.

The Pentagon said seven cases were under investigation and that three active-duty service members so far had tested positive for the virus. Beyond the Marine, they include previously reported cases of a soldier in South Korea and a sailor in Italy.

U.S. officials told Reuters that the Marine worked at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which helps oversee foreign military sales and international military educational partnerships. The Marine had returned last month from Ethiopia.

In the case of Lieutenant General Christopher Cavoli, the possible exposure took place during a conference with land force commanders in Europe on Friday in Wiesbaden, Germany. In a photo, Cavoli is pictured sitting next to an unnamed Italian military officer whose face cannot be seen in a military photo of the event here

Reuters reported on Sunday that Italian army Chief of Staff General Salvatore Farina contracted the virus.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. Army commander in Europe may have been exposed to the coronavirus, while a Marine who tested positive for it had been working for a defense agency close to the Pentagon, officials said on Monday.

The disclosures show the risks to the U.S. military even as it tries to limit the fallout from the global virus outbreak on the more than a million active-duty troops around the world.