US orders a 60-day freeze on overseas troop movements due to coronavirus pandemic [View all]
Source: CNN
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has signed an order freezing the movements of all US troops overseas for 60 days due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to three defense officials. It means all US service members overseas or currently scheduled to deploy from the US will stay in their current locations for the next 60 days.
The freeze-in-place order will affect 90,000 expected scheduled deployments, including both troops scheduled to return home and troops scheduled to deploy overseas. There will be several exceptions including for naval vessels scheduled to return to the US.
The new order is just the latest step the Pentagon has taken to protect its troops and civilian personnel from the virus as the number of cases in the military continues to grow. On Wednesday, Esper raised the health protection status for all defense installations worldwide in response to the outbreak, limiting access and encouraging teleworking across the defense department.
The Pentagon said there are now 227 US service members who have tested positive for the virus in addition to 67 dependents, 81 Defense Department civilians and 40 defense contractors.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/25/politics/us-troop-movement-freeze-coronavirus/index.html
Top US military medical official said the Pentagon's modeling shows the pandemic is likely going to "continue to grow" in the next three weeks, the farthest out he said they were able to model, despite President Donald Trump's comments that he wanted the country "opened up" by Easter.
Joint Staff Surgeon Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday
"I don't think there's a great deal of value in speculating on a particular day."