U.S. military to halt domestic travel due to coronavirus

The U.S. military said on Friday that it will halt, with some exceptions, all domestic travel for service members, Defense Department civilians and their families in a move aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus and its impact on the military.

The move, which goes further than previous restrictions on international travel, highlights the degree to which the U.S. military, which has only a handful of coronavirus cases, is concerned and the lengths it is willing to take to protect the more than a million active-duty troops around the world. "The continuing spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) necessitates the immediate implementation of travel restrictions for domestic Department of Defense (DoD) travel," a memo, signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist, said.

The policy would go into effect from Monday through May 11 and would be for service members, Defense Department civilian personnel and their families "assigned to DoD installations, facilities, and surrounding areas in the United States and its territories," the memo said. "This restriction will halt all domestic travel," a Pentagon statement accompanying the memo said.

Exceptions could be granted for mission-essential travel, travel necessary for humanitarian reasons, and travel warranted due to extreme hardship, it said.