the Secretary of Defense announced new travel restrictions for 60 days for service members, DoD civilians and families traveling to, from, or through Level 3 locations, as designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These restrictions are effective March 13. "The Department of Defense's top priority remains the protection and welfare of our people. 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," said Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. This restriction includes all forms of travel, including Permanent Change of Station, Temporary Duty, and government funded leave. The Level 3 countries are set by the CDC and may change. The DoD guidance will follow those changes. Service secretaries and commanders may issue waivers to this policy as they determine necessary to ensure mission readiness and address specific cases. Additionally, for the next 60 days, concurrent official travel to Level 2 locations for families of service members and civilian personnel is denied. For the next 60 days, DoD will implement enhanced health care protocols for traveler safety and transition to the use of military or contracted aircraft for required travel to Level 2 or 3 locations. DOD has also issued updated Force Health Protection guidance that requires a screening and 14-day self-monitoring at home upon return for all DOD personnel who have traveled from, to or through Level 2 or 3 countries. This policy will be reviewed prior to the end of the 60-day period to determine whether it will be modified or extended. The Department will continue to issue additional guidance with regard to the COVID-19 as conditions warrant. For more information on the CDC travel restrictions, visit https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/. We encourage all DOD personnel to visit https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/ for information on staying healthy during the outbreak. Note that at the bottom of this webpage is a collection of COVID-19 resources, which include the attached documents.
1) Regarding how COVID-19 travel restrictions will impact military members and families - especially those in the midst of PCS to or from one of the affected locations. The attached FAQ was just published to address many of those questions. It is found online at:
https://media.defense.gov/2020/Mar/13/2002264270/-1/-1/1/FAQ-TRAVEL-RESTRICT
IONS.PDF
2) For our TRCARE beneficiaries, the Military Health System (MHS) has established a microsite to be the primary information resource for MHS beneficiaries. That link is:
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2f%2f%2fwww.tricare.mil%2f
coronavirus&c=E,1,IEv-0vf_hfC-knUc7rSAeWOH_3Ycg2EvAKwRGa0LfzpwvhDqmjYwYs8LKH
MK85RxrSCZ0TTBt1g2gMkmP03lTM4yayRh_Mlc9EFxmgWV_OvNbi7V9w,,&typo=0
The MHS also has created a communication toolkit (primarily for use by DoD medical personnel, but of interest to all) The link is:
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fhealth.mil%2fAbout-MHS%2
fMHS-Toolkits%2fCOVID-19-Toolkit&c=E,1,uNyghPlhSnc9D5x45lOVIBL2zDp5cv-PACsvI
BkKxBNXlFPgidoYi2V9w558GizuevnXrJf91ImVoXCia6ZSZfOuHkfkaGYY7J7CWPPIBK62W49-_
Q,,&typo=0
This toolkit contains a variety of public affairs, communication and marketing materials that can be used as is or tailored to local audiences as necessary. In addition to links to CDC and TRICARE resources, it contains:
--Prevention messages, posters and fact sheets.
--Signs and symptoms articles and fact sheets.
--FAQs on what to do if you are sick.
--Nurse Advice Line messages and infographics, plus screen savers (stateside and overseas).
--Social media messages and graphics.
3) For DoD Schools and Childcare Programs: DoDEA has published a webpage with important information at this link:
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.dodea.edu%2fCoronavi
rus.cfm&c=E,1,laSAN0oJwN1Zds73nYSWfY1AqeIZv8xrP6MbFGpWn3HXrHy4WpwfS-DX210U7i
_JX6BZ4kCb6m62KONgqNImlLAiv7xAtH0hmojBCrU2Jx6w7Rl8hEl3ZA,,&typo=0
Also regarding child health safety: Child development centers and family child care homes routinely follow health and safety practices to include frequent hand washing, sanitizing surfaces with a bleach water solution prepared daily, sanitizing cribs and cots used for napping. Children are screened daily to ensure they are free from communicable diseases; they are isolated and sent home in the event they develop a fever or are unable to participate in daily activities. These practices are in place and are part of regular daily routine. Installation commanders will implement necessary measures based on local situations and with guidance from local public health officials and the CDC.
4) Military OneSouce has published a page with Coronavirus information the military community at this link:
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2f%2f%2fwww.militaryonesou
rce.mil%2fcoronavirus&c=E,1,k4_pJIHAAlaMWwBs3BX0-S87zK6Os2XifkHH7Ty9wGQPFpa2
jHeGu-D8TTbmyNlWXEzcJo5gSCpqvsCFjj0hzAD3dWTt9QJlClU8kW8FPh6ymQ,,&typo=0
5) We will continue to update the main DoD COVID-19 information page at:
https://www.defense.gov/Explore/Spotlight/Coronavirus/
Please visit this webpage regularly for the latest information on DoD policies and actions to protect our force, families, and missions as this serious situation continues to evolve. Specific DoD policies and Force Health Protection guidance documents will be found in the "Publications" tab of this site.