The Pentagon’s chief Mark Esper said the coronavirus pandemic could have an impact on the combat readiness of the US Armed Forces, noting that the US Department of Defense is still “ready to defend the country“, EDNews reports citing Bulgarian Military News.
“If this pandemic continues on the scale that some predict for a long time, its impact on combat readiness will be noticeable,” Esper said.
According to the US Secretary of Defense, a decrease in the combat readiness of the US forces will happen due to the cancellation of a number of exercises, which can already be observed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
We recall that large US economic centers, such as San Francisco and New York, impose significant restrictions on public events in connection with the spread of coronavirus and strengthen quarantine measures.
In this regard, the US military-industrial companies and the US Department of Defense are deciding on the cessation of work associated with the direct presence of employees in the workplace.
On December 31, 2019, Chinese authorities announced an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan. The causative agent of the disease is a new type of coronavirus, which is given the official name COVID-19.
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the outbreak of the new coronavirus pandemic.
