U.S. defense chief Mark Esper has ordered a 60-day freeze on the movement of American troops and civilian defense employees overseas in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The move announced Wednesday has stopped the deployment or redeployment of some 90,000 U.S. service members as well as their families.
The Pentagon said in a statement that the measure was taken to protect U.S. personnel and preserve the operational readiness of their global force.
The U.S. military has reported over 430 cases of COVID-19 among personnel, civilians, contractors and their families.■
<Photo: Yonhap News>
