COVID: How Many UK Personnel Have Had Coronavirus?

The Government has released its latest statistics on how many UK military personnel have tested positive for coronavirus.

As of 9 July this year, 10,416 UK Armed Forces personnel had received positive test results since the coronavirus outbreak began - a rise of 914 since 25 June.

The newest figures released by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) also show that 283,633 defence personnel have been tested for COVID-19.

This includes 265,200 UK Armed Forces personnel, and 18,433 civilian defence personnel.

The MOD said the tests may have been carried out at regional testing sites, mobile units, hospitals, or at home using self-testing kits.

Across all three services, the British Army has seen the most positive tests among personnel since the start of the pandemic, with 5,800, while the Royal Navy has had 2,921 positive results and the Royal Air Force 1,695.

Watch: The Government last month faced criticism for not prioritising military personnel for COVID-19 vaccinations.

The majority of the positive cases among serving personnel have been in the UK (9,286), with 1,130 cases overseas.

There have been 118,054 tests administered to British Army service personnel, 30,650 in the Royal Navy and 2,018 in the Royal Air Force.

A total of 114,130 tests have also been carried out on service personnel in UK Strategic Command.

It was confirmed last week that 54,742 members of the British military are yet to receive a coronavirus vaccine, while 5,200 UK Armed Forces personnel were self-isolating at the start of the month.

Also last week, it was confirmed there had been a COVID outbreak on the Royal Navy-led Carrier Strike Group 21 deployment.

All personnel deployed on the operation are fully vaccinated.

The UK Armed Forces have played a key role in the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic since last year, including setting up and running mobile testing centres and helping to construct the NHS Nightingale hospitals.

Defence has also assisted with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, while medical personnel have supported frontline health workers.

Cover image: MOD.