Watch live: Pentagon officials hold Covid briefing as military struggles to contain outbreaks

WASHINGTON — Department of Defense officials are slated to address the spike in coronavirus cases within the U.S. military at a press briefing on Tuesday.

In the past week, U.S. Defense officials recorded more than 1,300 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 among members of the armed forces. Nearly a quarter of the roughly 300 sailors stationed on guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy have tested positive for the virus.