On March 11, the Department of Defense announced that all military members, civilian DOD employees, and their families may not travel to or through any CDC Travel Health Notices Level 2 or 3 countries.
The official memo can be found here https://media.defense.gov/2020/Mar/11/2002263242/-1/-1/1/TRAVEL-RESTRICTIONS-FOR-DOD-COMPONENTS-IN-RESPONSE-TO-CORONAVIRUS-DISEASE-2019.PDF and a list of CDC Level 2 and 3 countries can be found on the CDC website, which is updated regularly.
On March 13, the Department of Defense released a statement announcing that from March 16 to May 11, domestic travel will be restricted for military member, civilian DOD employees, and their families.
The official memo, including information on possible exemptions, can be found here https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2112213/statement-by-the-department-of-defense-on-domestic-travel-restrictions/.
Some frequently asked questions regarding travel restrictions can be found at https://media.defense.gov/2020/Mar/13/2002264270/-1/-1/1/FAQ-TRAVEL-RESTRICTIONS.PDF.
Note: It does not seem to be updated with the latest restrictions regarding domestic travel yet, but it may be updated soon.
As military spouses, who often already feel isolated from family and friends, the travel restrictions may feel daunting. Some of us may be wondering why or if this is necessary. Some of us may be questioning if we even should travel once it is allowed again or if restrictions change. While no one can answer those questions for you, I have some basic information and sources that may help.
First, before looking at any data, it is important to know that epidemics are nothing if not unpredictable. As we have all seen, the situation can completely change in a matter of days. There is so much that we do not know about COVID-19. There is also so much that we do not know about the accuracy of the numbers, due to a lack of testing in the US. Today (March 14 10:00 AM CST) there are 2200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US. A confirmed case means a person who tested positive for the virus. A presumed positive is someone with symptoms and known close contact with a person who tested positive. The number of cases reported by the CDC includes confirmed and presumed positive cases. The problem is that due to a delay in the start of testing and lack of availability of test and/or labs, the CDC has only reported 13,624 tests. That is about 41.8 tests per million people in the US. People that are not in high-risk groups and who have mild symptoms are often not getting tested. There is no way to know what the true numbers are, and experts have a large range of predictions. The important take-away is that even if your state is only reporting a few cases, there are almost certainly more than are being reported. If you experience any symptoms, it is a good idea to stay home. This is also something to consider in any potential travel plans.
You may be hearing people talking about avoiding or reducing exponential growth in their community or “flattening the curve”. So what does exponential growth mean and why does it matter?
If you look at the graphs that are being published that show number of cases of COVID-19 over time, you will see that some countries have a line that looks like linear growth, while others have a line that looks like exponential growth. With a virus, the type of growth depends on how many people get infected by each already infected individual (this is called the R0 or reproductive number). If we experience exponential growth, it means that 5 cases grow to over 10,000 in 11 doubling times. Right now in the US, the doubling time is 3 days (Source: Our World In Data). The entire goal in shutting down events and restricting travel, is to increase the doubling time and try to make the curve look more like the linear growth line. That is what people mean when they talk about flattening the curve. Flattening the curve reduces impact of the virus and allows the healthcare system to keep up with need.
Okay, so that is where we are now. There is SO much more information out there, but those are just a couple points that I think are important for young healthy people, like most military families, to remember. It is important to understand the numbers, not because you need to be worried about your own health, but because we all need to be thinking about our community health and the impact of spreading the virus as a healthy individual. Do you have questions? I am not an expert in epidemiology or on this particular virus, but I am always happy to help interpret data or find valid sources. In addition to the CDC and WHO websites, Our World In Data is doing a great job at updating and interpreting the data. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus#covid-19-tests
EVERYONE HAS A ROLE IN PROTECTING COMMUNITIES, BUT WHY ARE MILITARY FAMILIES FACING ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS?
I am certainly not qualified to speak on the reasons behind decisions, but I do have some ideas and opinions. First, the military is unique in that it must continue to operate. Military operations cannot shut down the way that schools and businesses can, so early action makes sense to me. Early action is the key to preventing exponential growth. If we can avoid that growth curve, it could prevent harsher measures having to be implemented later.
Military families travel more than average. Since we have family and friends all over the world, and since our military member spouses may travel for work, we have a high potential to become spreaders of COVID-19 between communities. In addition to our travel, most people affiliated with military installations are young and healthy. We are therefore more likely to experience mild symptoms and not be tested, which could lead to the virus being spread significantly before detection.
While we are young and healthy, many bases are located in communities that tend to be poorer than average and sometimes older than average due to the number of retired veterans that stay in the local area. The last thing we want to do is risk the health of the communities that support us. We may not be individually at risk of negative outcomes, but we are certainly at risk of being carriers.
Military families are well-versed in putting community before self. Let us be an example in the world of sacrificing and acting early to protect those around us.
If there is one thing we military spouses are trained for, it is long distance relationships. We have the WAFs page, FaceTime, and so many other resources to stay connected despite travel restrictions. We can do this! Let’s put our skills to work and keep looking out for each other from wherever our local area may be.
MEET JENNY
