The Department of Defense will institute rapid COVID-19 tests on some Pentagon officials before they travel overseas to prevent the spread of the virus to partners and allies — an attempt to prevent repeating the faux pas recently committed by the State Department.
Air Mobility Command announced Sunday that between 10% and 15% of military officials and their families traveling on official Patriot Express flights chartered from Baltimore Washington Airport or Seattle-Tacoma will now be tested before boarding.
“In order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to meet the long-standing commitments to our allies and partners, the Department of Defense will begin rapid, on-site COVID-19 testing,” a statement by the command read.
The announcement comes in the wake of reports that Peter Berkowitz, the State Department director of planning policy, continued a trip to Budapest, London, and Paris, meeting with diplomats and journalists while videoed coughing repeatedly.
The official returned to the United States and immediately tested positive for COVID-19, drawing the ire of some of America’s closest allies abroad.
The DOD intends not to repeat the incident among the nation’s top brass.
Any passenger or family member can be pulled aside for the random Abbott ID NOW test of asymptomatic individuals. Those testing positive will be given medical support and lodging for a prescribed isolation period.
Other passengers will be screened for symptoms, undergo temperature checks, and must respond to a questionnaire about their history of close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
Individuals testing positive will be isolated for 10 days, while families will be isolated for 14 days.
The military Patriot Express West Coast charters fly to destinations in Japan, including Kadena, Yokota, Iwakuni, and Misawa. East Coast flights depart for European destinations, including Germany, Italy, the Azores, Greece, and Spain.
Air Mobility Command, the air component of U.S. Transportation Command, is headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois and is responsible for airlift, air refueling, air mobility, and aeromedical evacuation operations worldwide.
