US Military preparring for a Coronavirus pandemic.

Animated gif showing the spread of the Coronavirus. Wikipedia user Metropolitan. 

The United States military is preparing for a Coronavirus pandemic. Military Times. Defense Secretary Mark Esper ordered Northern Command to implement the Department of Defense Global Campaign plan for Pandemic Influenza and Infectious Diseases 3551-13. The plan being put into place will allow the military to respond to the disease if it becomes widespread. The Marines plan involves “response, isolation, quarantine, restriction of movement and community based intervention”. In addition the military will detain anyone who had traveled to China, either in their houses or in isolated housing if they live in a barracks with other people. 

My Comment:

I'm kind of surprised that it took this long for them to do this. After all, it's been clear from the start that the Coronavirus outbreak is more serious than the Chinese have let on. You would have thought that this plan would have been put into action awhile ago but I guess not. 

I obviously think this is justified. The Coronavirus spreads pretty easily and there is a decent chance that it could start spreading here in the United States. As far as I am aware that hasn't happened yet as all the cases appear to be from travelers, but that doesn't mean that will be true in the future. And if it does happen we need to be prepared. 

It's unclear what exactly these plans are. The description is pretty vague and it could mean a lot of things. It does seem clear that the military is very prepared to quarantine their own troops if they get sick and will do so as a precaution if they have traveled to China. But beyond that it's unclear what they will be able to do. 

What I don't think will happen is the kind of restrictions on civil liberties we are seeing in China. The American people don't handle that kind of travel restriction well and most likely wouldn't put up with it. People would violate the order on purpose just on principle alone. And the posse comitatus act prevents US troops used in this kind of role. 

But that doesn't mean that the military won't have a role domestically. They will be used to distribute supplies, run hospitals and possibly assist in engineering projects. I don't see them doing too much else other than trying to protect their own people.

Is this a real threat though? It depends. It's obviously a threat to China, but is it a threat to America? I think if it does get here and start spreading in it's current form it's going to cause severe problems. A lot of people would get sick and a few will even die. Given the fact that the virus seems to have a long incubation period and might be able to spread without symptoms, it's possible that the steps we have taken, including the travel ban, might not be enough to stop it from getting here. 

But there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, the virus may mutate to a less deadly form. This seems likely and has happened to many viruses as the ones that kill people quickly tend to not spread as well. That's one of the reasons why Ebola didn't spread well. 

Second, the virus may not spread as well in spring when the temperatures get warmer and people are outside more. President Trump thinks this might be the case and there is some evidence that this could be the case but it's not something we can depend on. 

Finally, there's a decent chance that the virus might not even make it to America in the first place. If America keeps up the travel ban and doesn't allow people from infected countries come here it could prevent an outbreak here completely, even if it does spread to other countries.

I would also say that America is more prepared for an outbreak than China is. We do have a disadvantage in the fact that our medicine and other supplies are made overseas, but our population is fairly spread out compared to China. We don't rely on public transport as much and outside of a few of our biggest cities the conditions for spreading the virus are not anywhere near as good. An outbreak would be terrible but I don't think we would have the problems that China is having right now.