Coronavirus: "The Pentagon closes the doors"

The Pentagon will close its doors, starting Monday, to all unofficial visitors and restrict entry to international guests and large groups of people, this is just the latest in a series of restrictions that will apply to military personnel and on access to US bases throughout the country. Last night, the US Department of Defense published a communication on its website on the various measures to be implemented to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, after President Donald Trump had declared a state of national emergency. Among them, all international travelers will not be able to access the huge building before a waiting period of 14 days after their return to the United States. Retirement and promotion ceremonies were also interrupted.  The presence of foreign delegations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Pentagon is the huge American defense headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. But it is also the terminus for hundreds of buses carrying thousands of commuters to the Washington area. Completed in 1943, the Pentagon is home to over 25.000 workers and sees around 100.000 visitors pass through each year across an area three times larger than the Empire State Building. It is the largest American facility by number of officers serving there, in short, it is the "beating" heart of the Defense of the strongest and best equipped army in the world. The restriction applied to the Pentagon also extends to other buildings and offices in the Washington area, "including the Mark Center, Defense Headquarters, the United States Court of Appeals and other Defense structures used throughout the area. of the US capital.

The full declaration is effective from midnight on Sunday 15 March 2020 and reads verbatim:

 

Coronavirus: "The Pentagon closes the doors"