Pentagon halts domestic travel for military due to coronavirus

The Pentagon announced Friday that members of the armed services, Defense Department civilian employees and their family members who are living on or serving at military properties can no longer travel domestically starting Monday, to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Posted 4:05 a.m. Mar 14, 2020 — Updated 4:05 a.m. Mar 14, 2020

Jamie Crawford

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Caroline Kelly, CNN

CNN — The Pentagon announced Friday that members of the armed services, Defense Department civilian employees and their family members who are living on or serving at military properties can no longer travel domestically starting Monday, to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

"The continuing spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) necessitates immediate implementation of travel restrictions for domestic Department of Defense (DoD) travel," according to a Defense Department memo signed by Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist.

"These restrictions are necessary to preserve force readiness, limit the continuing spread of the virus, and preserve the health and welfare of Service members, DoD civilian employees, their families, and the local communities in which we live," the memo continues.

The travel restriction is slated to last until May 11. Service members may take only local leave during that time, according to the memo.

The department said in a statement Friday that the travel restriction "will also pause civilian hiring at DoD installations and components for persons who do not reside within the hiring entity's local commuting area."

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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