It was one of the surest signs yet that the highest levels of the U.S. intelligence community were treating the coronavirus outbreak like a significant operational concern.
Vice President Mike Pence said Monday evening that there has been no ban on domestic travel despite the growing number of 2019 novel coronavirus deaths in the United States. But one government agency is effectively directing its employees not to travel, domestically or internationally, at least for the next several weeks.
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has banned much of the temporary duty assignment (TDY) travel as coronavirus cases continue to surge across the globe, according to two individuals familiar with the office’s protocols. Temporary duty assignment travel includes employees of the agency who need to travel from their permanent posts for things like meetings, conferences, training, or to backfill positions.
The agency is also asking employees returning from outbreak countries to remain at home under a self-quarantine system. According to the sources who spoke with The Daily Beast, the agency has posted flyers across its headquarters building, reminding people of the directives.
“DIA employees who have traveled from CDC-defined Level 2-3 countries within the past 14 days are required to remain at home on self-isolation for 14 days before being medically cleared to return to DIA facilities,” said a spokesperson for DIA, who provided a comment to The Daily Beast after publication.
The DIA is the first known government agency to ban travel domestically in the face of the global outbreak, raising questions about whether other federal offices will issue the same guidance.
“DIA is a global organization and has a responsibility to protect the health and safety of its globally-deployed workforce,” the spokesperson said. “During this coronavirus outbreak, DIA is following DoD Force Health Protection Guidance, which itself is closely coordinated with the CDC and other interagency partners. As a prudent step, the agency has issued guidance regarding official travel that requires certain levels of approval depending on mission criticality and the travel destination.”
At a press conference at the White House Monday evening, where members of President Trump’s coronavirus task force addressed the rising death toll in the U.S., a reporter from The Washington Post asked the vice president whether he would feel comfortable traveling with his family to somewhere like Disney World during Spring Break.
“I travel across the country all the time. My kids live across the country,” Pence said. “This is a time to use common sense and wash your hands.”
Pence told reporters they should expect some sort of briefing each day in the future with updates from healthcare professionals on the most up to date coronavirus statistics.
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