The number of COVID-19 cases among service members, their families, civilians and contractors has dropped from its mid-April high, the Pentagon announced late last week.

Service members make up about two-thirds of the cases. The services are working through a plan to test asymptomatic personnel and incoming recruits, Military Times reported.

“From a military perspective, we have to figure out how to use testing in ways to validate the readiness of our forces to deploy,” Air Force Gen. John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters April 17. “Testing is going to become a critical part of that.”

There were 467 troops testing positive for COVID-19 last week, a rise of 10 percent, bringing the total to 5,171. Of those, 144 have been hospitalized, 1,978 have recovered, and two have died.

The military’s infection rate is around 0.2 percent, about half that of the general U.S. public, according to the report.

Army photo by Spc. Miguel Pena