Pentagon Silent On Coronavirus Test Kits At Overseas Military Bases
Amidst issues that the coronavirus might spread out at U.S. military centers in countries experiencing big break outs, the Department of Defense has actually not stated if all centers abroad have the ways to test individuals for the infection.
“We asked the Department of Defense whether the Army has coronavirus testing kits physically at all bases abroad,” stated Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) in a declaration. “After following up, they are still not able to inform us [a] yes or no response– does every military base overseas have present access to coronavirus kits?”
A Defense Department official did not instantly react to an ask for more details.
A Pentagon official informed Pocan’s office to prepare for more details on Friday however supplied “no real answers” since Thursday, a spokesperson for the congressman informed HuffPost.
Test kits for COVID-19, which is the illness brought on by the coronavirus, are not the only line of defense for health specialists attempting to consist of the spread of the infection. Numerous medical facilities and health specialists are examining people and taking quarantine procedures based upon whether clients are revealing most likely signs of the coronavirus.
Pocan’s office called the Pentagon based upon a report that a number of military personnel on a base in Afghanistan were experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” which are a capacity sign of infection.
The unnamed military base is a couple of miles from a town in Afghanistan with 5 recognized cases of COVID-19, Pocan stated, and 75 miles from the border of Iran, where cases of the infection have actually gone beyond 10,000 It is not clear where personnel have actually performed operations or what other safety measures may be in location.
Around the world, there are 10s of countless military personnel and households based in countries where cases of the infection have actually been validated. Specific U.S. military bases in countries with extreme break outs are currently taking additional safety measures versus the infection, like prevalent disinfection efforts and scaled-back military operations.
In Daegu, the town at the center of South Korea’s break out, the U.S. fort of more than 9,000 soldiers, personnel and households has actually stopped most offsite travel and set up medical examination for individuals getting in the base. U.S. military bases in Italy have actually closed schools and day care centers.
However the absence of an all set response about screening, particularly, mirrors a more comprehensive scarcity of clear details coming out of the Trump administration.
“The fact that we cannot figure out this basic answer for our troops serving abroad is very concerning,” Pocan stated. “I hope that the military can get us an affirmative answer immediately.”
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