DOD Response to Corona, Some Hard Core $$ Facts, Timeline

CORONAVIRUS: DOD RESPONSE TIMELINE DOD

The Defense Department is responding to every development in the COVID-19 pandemic and remains focused on protecting our people, safeguarding our missions and supporting the American people.

29 April $75.5M Defense Production Act Title 3 Puritan Contract. Puritan Medical Products was awarded the contract to increase its current monthly output of 20 million to 40 million swabs starting in May.

21 April DOD announces details for $133M Defense Production Act Title 3 COVID-19 project. Three companies awarded contracts to increase U.S. domestic N95 mask production by over 39M in the next 90 days: 3M ($76M), O&M Halyward ($29M), and Honeywell ($27.4M).

Under Secretary for Personnel & Readiness issues department-wide authorization for service members to accrue and retain an additional leave balance of up to 120 days.

19 April POTUS announces he will use the Defense Production Act to increase COVID-19 testing swab production in one U.S. facility by over 20 million additional swabs per month. 

16 April Under Secretary for Personnel & Readiness issues department-wide authorization for service members to accrue and retain an additional leave balance of up to 120 days. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is executing 48 FEMA Mission Assignments totaling $1.7B, with 15,000+ personnel.

13 April Defense Logistics Agency awards $415M contract for 60 Battelle Memorial Institute Critical Care Decontamination Systems that can decontaminate up to 80,000 N95 used respirators per system per day, enabling mask reuse up to 20 times.

10 April DOD receives approval from the White House Task Force to execute the first Defense Production Act Title 3 project responding to COVID-19. The $133M project will increase domestic production capacity of N95 masks to over 39M in the next 90 days.

9 April DOD allows payments to contractors who cannot work due to COVID-19 facility closures or other restrictions through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Section 3610 Implementation.

DOD allows payments to contractors who cannot work due to COVID-19 facility closures or other restrictions through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Section 3610 Implementation.

DOD has constructed eight military field hospital sites around the country with 22 additional sites expected to be online in the next two weeks.

30 March U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is executing eight FEMA Mission Assignments, totaling $1.08B with 1,121 personnel deployed.

28 March Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) modifies an existing contract for the procurement of 8,000 ventilators for an estimate of $84.4M with 1,400 being delivered by early May. DLA provides USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy over $2M in medical supplies.

18 March POTUS signs Family First Act, providing $3.5B emergency supplemental appropriations related to COVID-19, as well as waivers and modifications of Federal nutrition programs, employment-related protections and benefits, health programs and insurance coverage requirements, and related tax credits during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

6 March POTUS signs COVID-19 bill, passing $8.3B for crisis response for non-Department of Defense relief.

26 Feb U.S. Forces Korea confirms first positive COVID-19 in a U.S. service member.

9 February Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff establishes COVID-19 Crisis Management Team.

U.S. Forces Korea institutes 14-day self-quarantine for U.S. service members returning from mainland China to South Korea on/after Jan. 19, 2020.

Feb. 2, 2020 U.S. Department of State issues a Level 4 travel advisory for China.

Jan. 31, 2020 Department of Health and Human Services declares a public health emergency for the United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to the coronavirus. 

POTUS proclaims travel restriction on China for entering the United States. 

World Health Organization declares a Global Public Health Emergency.

CDC identifies person-to-person transmission in the United States.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command restricts travel to China. 

DOD Under Secretary for Personnel & Readiness issues initial Force Health Protection Guidance for COVID-19. 

POTUS establishes a COVID-19 interagency task force.

U.S. Department of State issues authorized departure for all China posts. DOD Response

29 Jan DOD approves Health and Human Services request for assistance (RFA#1) for March Air Reserve Base providing approximately 200 beds for State Department officials evacuated from Wuhan, China.

11 Jan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updates Level 1 Travel Notice for China.

7 Jan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention establishes the Coronavirus Incident Management System.

31 Dec Notice of Virus: China reports pneumonia of an unknown cause in Wuhan, China, to the World Health Organization Country Office. 

China reports first 41 cases of COVID-19 to the World Health Organization. Virus Progression
Dec. 8, 2019 First person to test positive (Wuhan, China).