Posted on 03/11/2020 10:21:08 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
The Defense Department (DOD) will implement a 60-day travel ban for service members, DOD civilians and their families to and from countries whose populations have been the most stricken by coronavirus, the Pentagon announced Wednesday night.
The restrictions, which go into effect Friday, ban all travel to, throughout and from locations designated as Level 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including China, South Korea, Iran and Italy.
In addition, DOD civilians and service members families are banned from traveling to Level 2 countries, which currently include Japan, for 60 days.
The Department of Defense's top priority remains the protection and welfare of our people, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement. While directing this prudent action, I continue to delegate all necessary authority to commanders to make further decisions based on their assessments to protect their people and ensure mission readiness.
"While we deal with this fluid and evolving situation, I remain confident in our ability to protect our service members, civilians and families," he added.
The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has infected more than 1,000 Americans and killed more than 30 thus far.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Bring them all home.
Good.
And now since the whole world has just been declared Level 3... that would be all travel everywhere.
Link to Global Level 3 Advisory
Japan is doing hardly any testing . Many more cases than have been reported . Hiding figures because of the summer Olympics .
I’m a DoD civilian in Germany, the local commands here have already curtailed most TDY (temporary duty) travel. This directive just formalizes what most commands have already implemented. This biggest impact will be on people already scheduled to PCS (permanent change of station) to and from overseas. I have a co-worker scheduled to move to a new job next month, so we’re wondering how this will impact him.
My cousin is married to a Marine Corps colonel.
About one week ago, she and the colonel came down with fairly severe flu symptoms.
When the base doctors found out the colonel had been in Japan the week before that, they put both of them in quarantine for almost two days before their tests came back from the CDC.
In fact, they did have H1N1 influenza, and they were released.
There is a certain level of dark comedy about that decision...
The H1N1 virus killed 18,000 Americans just 10 years ago - but they were being quarantined for coronavirus!
.
Who knew the flu killed so many.
For MOST, that’s the most surprising fact to come out in all of this.
People keep saying that stupid thing “oh but it’s just a flu”
Flu sounds like it can be pretty freaking bad!
I hope our military folks don’t get this thing.
I saw an episode of BattleStar Galactica where all the pilots got sick and they had to assemble a ragtag fleet to fight off the cylons...
A thousand years in the future and still no cure for the flu?
Bummer!
ROFL!!!
Since my life is so boring i looked it up :)
It was a “space disease”!!!!
They caught it on an asteroid.
Probably some time of virus or bacteria still, I would assume.
Thank God for the ragtag fleet of old people and girls who learned to fly fighters in 2 days!
How long can it take to work one of them F35 thingies?
I have a family member who’s supposed to go to South Korea in May.
Oh, they all grew up playing Asteroids and MS Flight Simulator!
"No sweatski!" as we used to say in the Polish Air Force.
(my apology to Poles)
lol
I couldn’t FIT in one :)
In the meantime, in NYS, Cuomo is sending the National Guard to Westchester County. Nothing like exposing our soldiers for no reason. I hope President Trump has the power to override this. I believe he does.
. . . which sounds a LOT more comforting than announcing that troops will be sent to Africa to suppress Ebola.
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