Zion man stationed at Great Lakes dies

A Zion man who was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes has died after testing positive for COVID-19, according to Navy officials.

Chief Quartermaster Herbert Rojas was found unresponsive at his Zion home by his girlfriend Feb. 2 and was later declared dead at the scene, according to Lt. Cmdr. Phil Chitty, a public affairs officer at the Naval Service Training Command.

Rojas tested positive for the virus after being selected randomly for a test as part of a "sentinel" program - a system designed to catch asymptomatic positive cases by testing ten percent of the recruit training command staff every week, according to Chitty.

After testing positive, and despite having no symptoms, Rojas received care at an off-base military medical facility and was sent to isolate for 14 days per Department of Defense COVID guidelines. According to Chitty, Rojas never developed symptoms.

While there have been other COVID-related deaths at the base, Rojas' death is the first from within the recruit training command.

"We're still grieving," Chitty said. "His death was a shock. ... It's really hit a lot of people hard, obviously his family but also other staff members."

Rojas received 25 awards and decorations between the time he entered the Navy at Naval Station Great Lakes, served in Iraq and ultimately ended up back at Great Lakes to help train new recruits.

Though the autopsy is still pending, COVID-19 is suspected to have played a role in his death.

Naval Station Great Lakes and its subordinate commands use a contact tracing system where those determined to have the highest level of exposure to positive cases can be quarantined for up to 14 days, according to Chitty.

The U.S. military has had nearly 146,000 confirmed cases, with over 30,000 of those coming from the Navy alone, according to the Department of Defense.