The US Department of Defense has announced that it is able to function continuously, despite some media claiming that US military readiness may soon begin to lose effectiveness following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Yesterday, during a press conference, the United States Defense Secretary Mark Esper claimed to be "completely confident"That the Pentagon can carry out its functions uninterrupted, even after the spread of the coronavirus. He added that, however, he awaits a report early next week on the measures of the Pentagon, the largest military building in the world with 20.000 employees, to prevent or mitigate the spread of the virus. He then added that the Pentagon's National Command and Control Center, designed for a nuclear attack, is capable of supporting Department of Defense employees for even weeks. should they remain closed inside the building".
Esper has not yet commented on reports from last week that senior US military commanders expressed concern over the country's state of military readiness by the end of March. Late yesterday, the US European command announced the early termination of an ongoing joint military exercise in Israel as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. A few days earlier, Pentagon officials had canceled a joint military exercise in South Korea.
Meanwhile, the main US defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced that it has stopped production of the fifth generation F-35 aircraft at its plants in Italy and Japan (work from home has been favored). The company said production at its Texas factories continues uninterrupted.
Defense Secretary Esper also stated that the U.S. military's worldwide efforts on COVID-19 are coordinated by the U.S. command. Northern. The Norther Military Command is already preparing to "short and long term scenarios, in national and international situations". Esper did not want to add anything else to this statement during the press conference, maintaining absolute confidentiality.
Also yesterday, the Pentagon announced that it has begun distributing health screenings to all new and potential recruits who will approach all branches of the military.
Epidemic situation in the USA
According to The Post in the United States, the number of people infected with the coronavirus has reached 233 - but it could grow a lot in the next few days when the number of tests carried out increases - and the deaths are 14: the infections occurred in 17 states of the country but the vast majority are in Washington state on the west coast, where a total of 13 people have died. Nine of these were in a nursing home on the outskirts of Seattle, where a dozen other infections were also recorded.
In all, 75 cases of infection were reported in Washington state, more than 40 compared to the previous day. As a precaution, the closure of all schools was imposed in a school district on the northern outskirts of Seattle, forcing about 23 students to stay home for two weeks while trying to contain the coronavirus epidemic in the area. The spread of the virus has also forced many large tech companies based in Washington to implement some changes: Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook, for example, have invited their employees to work from home until the end of March, to avoid the risk of infection.