The DOD reported last week that there were 32,912 Covid-19 cases in service members around the world, marking a dramatic increase from one week earlier, when there were 13,940 cases across the military.

Just before Christmas, the number was a far lower, at 5,285 cases.

The Defense Department does not test specifically for the Omicron variant that has been driving the increase in cases around the world, but officials say there is every reason to believe the highly contagious strain is responsible for the soaring case numbers.