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Canadian troops test positive for COVID-19 in Latvia, Kuwait

Canada has 540 soldiers in Latvia, where the Canadian military is leading a NATO battlegroup
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses the troops at Adazi Military Base in Kadaga, Latvia, on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Department of National Defence says Canadian troops deployed to Latvia have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Defence Department isn’t saying how many Canadian Armed Forces members have been infected, citing security concerns.

The military last week reported that 676 Canadian Armed Forces members had tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March, including 15 who still had the disease.

It was not clear whether any of the cases in Latvia were included in that number.

Canada has 540 soldiers in Latvia, where the Canadian military is leading a NATO battlegroup that includes troops from nine other countries as a check against Russian aggression in eastern Europe.

The infections in Latvia follow an earlier outbreak among Canadian military personnel in Kuwait at the beginning of December.

The Canadian Press

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