In June 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) lifted its travel ban for service members travelling between approved locations, which included 38 states, Washington D.C., and five countries. The DoD had initially issued travel restrictions in March 2020, which included restricting travel outside of the area where members were stationed, pausing deployments, and halting official travel. To be cleared for travel, areas needed to meet certain criteria, including a decline in new COVID-19 cases over two weeks and the availability of schools and daycare services.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Date of DoD travel restriction lift | June 2020 |
Who does the ban apply to? | DoD civilian and uniformed personnel and their family members |
What does the ban include? | Restricting travel outside of the area they are stationed, pausing temporary assignments, deployments, leave, official travel and permanent change of stations |
When was the ban supposed to end? | Mid-May 2020 |
When was it extended to? | June 30, 2020 |
When did the ban change from a stop order to an order based on conditions? | End of May 2020 |
Number of states cleared for travel | 38 |
Countries cleared for travel | 5 (Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, the U.K. and Japan) |
Number of confirmed COVID-19 cases among military, civilian, dependent and contractor personnel as of June 07, 2020 | 10,822 |
What You'll Learn
DoD travel restrictions lifted for some states
The Department of Defense (DoD) has lifted its travel ban for some states, allowing service members to travel between approved locations without needing permission. The ban, which was initially set to expire in mid-May, was extended until June 30, 2020, and was then replaced with an order based on the conditions at installations.
Criteria for Lifting the Ban
To lift the ban, two conditions must be met. First, travel without restriction must align with state and regional criteria, following the White House's "Opening Up America" plan. Second, officials must follow the guidance of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Conditions for Approved Areas
Areas approved for travel should have seen a decline in new coronavirus cases over two weeks. They should not have a shelter-in-place order or other travel restrictions in place. Additionally, schools and daycares, as well as moving services, should be available. Medical treatment facilities should not be overwhelmed, and COVID-19 testing should be possible.
States and Countries that Meet the Criteria
As of June 2020, 38 states, Washington D.C., and five countries (Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, the U.K., and Japan) meet the criteria for lifting the DoD travel ban. Members in locations that do not meet these criteria must continue to request waivers for essential travel, emergencies, permanent changes of stations, and deployment or redeployment.
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DoD travel ban previously in place
On March 13, 2020, the DoD issued travel restrictions that applied to all DoD civilian and uniformed personnel and their family members. These DoD travel restrictions included restricting travel outside of the area they were stationed, putting temporary assignment movements on hold, and pausing deployments, leave, official travel, and permanent changes of station. This ban was set to expire in mid-May but was extended until June 30, 2020.
At the end of May, the ban changed from a stop order to an order based on conditions at installations. The Pentagon announced that it was lifting its travel restrictions for installations that met a list of criteria, despite there being more confirmed cases of COVID-19 among members. To be cleared for travel, two conditions had to be met. Firstly, travel without restriction must align with state and regional criteria, following the White House's Opening Up America plan. Secondly, officials needed to follow the guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By June 2020, 38 states, Washington D.C., and five countries (Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, the U.K., and Japan) all met the criteria. Members in states and countries that did not meet these criteria had to continue asking for waivers, which were considered for essential travel and emergencies, permanent changes of station, and deployment or redeployment.
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Criteria for clearance of DoD travel restrictions
The Department of Defense (DoD) has specific criteria that must be met for travel restrictions to be lifted. These criteria were announced in June 2020, when the DoD lifted its travel ban for installations that met the required conditions.
Firstly, travel without restriction must be in alignment with state and regional criteria, following the White House's 'Opening Up America' plan. This means that areas cleared for travel should be seeing a decline in new coronavirus cases over a two-week period. They should not have a shelter-in-place order or other travel restrictions in place. Additionally, schools and daycares should be open, and moving services should be available.
Secondly, officials must follow the guidance of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical treatment facilities should not be overwhelmed, and COVID-19 testing should be possible.
For members in states and countries that do not meet these criteria, waivers can be considered for essential travel, emergencies, permanent change of stations, and deployment or redeployment. Travel in these places will be determined by local travel restrictions and a review of individual cases by Commanders.
The DoD regularly updates its Foreign Clearance Guide, which outlines official travel regulations for service members, DoD civilians, DoD-sponsored family members, and DoD contractors. This guide should be consulted prior to any travel for those operating under the DoD.
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States where DoD travel restrictions remain
As of June 8, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) had not cleared the following states for travel:
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The DoD's travel restrictions were initially issued on March 13, 2020, and applied to all DoD civilian and uniformed personnel and their family members. The restrictions included limiting travel outside of the area where an individual was stationed, putting temporary assignments on hold, and pausing deployments and leave. The ban was set to expire in mid-May but was extended until June 30, 2020.
To be cleared for travel, two conditions must be met. First, travel without restriction must align with state and regional criteria, following the White House's Opening Up America plan. Second, officials will need to follow the guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Areas cleared for travel should see a decline in new COVID-19 cases over two weeks and should not have a shelter-in-place order or other travel restrictions in effect. Additionally, schools and daycares should be available, along with moving services. Medical treatment facilities should not be overwhelmed, and COVID-19 testing should be possible.
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COVID-19 cases among military personnel
On March 13, 2020, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued travel restrictions that applied to all DoD civilian and uniformed personnel and their family members. These restrictions included limiting travel outside of the area they were stationed, pausing deployments, and restricting official travel. The ban was set to expire in mid-May but was extended until June 30, 2020.
By the end of May, the DoD shifted from a stop order to an order based on the conditions at installations. Two conditions must be met for travel to be permitted: First, travel without restriction must align with state and regional criteria, following the White House's Opening Up America plan. Second, officials must follow the guidance of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Areas cleared for travel should see a decline in new coronavirus cases over two weeks and should not have a shelter-in-place order or other travel restrictions in effect.
As of June 2020, the following states had not been cleared for travel: California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
As of June 7, 2020, there were 10,822 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among military, civilian, dependent, and contractor personnel. The Navy had the highest number of cases at 2,608, followed by the Army at 1,896. The Army saw a 31% increase in COVID-19 cases since the end of May.
By December 2020, the U.S. military's coronavirus cases had topped 100,000, with the DoD announcing 1,608 new cases in the last two days, bringing the total to 101,236 since the pandemic began. The majority of those infected—92,023—have recovered, and 165 have died, including 14 service members, 103 civil servants, 39 contractors, and nine family members.
The infection rates across the services, including the Reserve components, have been relatively uniform, with the Marine Corps having the highest ratio of personnel infected at 5.5%. Just over 5.3% of the U.S. Army has tested positive since the start of the pandemic, followed by the Navy at 5.1% and the Air Force at 4.7%. Approximately 2.8% of Air and Army National Guard personnel have been infected.
The DoD began vaccinating its clinicians and frontline safety and security personnel in December 2020, starting in 13 military communities with 44,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Defense officials are encouraging service members to get vaccinated, although it is not mandatory.
In June and July 2021, an outbreak of COVID-19 occurred among U.S. military personnel and beneficiaries stationed in the Republic of Korea (USFK) following the easing of travel restrictions. A total of 207 new cases were diagnosed, of which 113 (57%) were fully vaccinated, and 86 (76%) were symptomatic. Whole-genome sequencing of 54 outbreak samples indicated that all infections were due to the Delta variant. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two sources of SARS-CoV-2 that accounted for 41% of infections among vaccinated and unvaccinated members.
The findings from the investigation in the Republic of Korea suggest that transitional COVID-19 mitigation measures can successfully control the spread of the Delta variant and are warranted even as vaccination rates increase.
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Frequently asked questions
As of June 2020, DoD travel restrictions have been lifted for 38 states, Washington D.C., and five countries (Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, the U.K., and Japan).
Two conditions must be met for the DoD to lift travel restrictions. First, travel without restriction must align with state and regional criteria, following the White House's Opening Up America plan. Second, officials must follow the guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of June 8, 2020, the DoD has not cleared the following states for travel: [list of states].