Almost all Navy installations across the US are raising their health protection level status due to Covid-19

Nearly all Navy installations in the continental US are having their health protection measures against Covid-19 tightened Tuesday to protect the force and military families, according to a US Navy official.

All installations with the exception of the Naval Air Station at Fallon in the remote Nevada desert will institute stronger measures at Health Protection Condition Level “Charlie,” just one step below the most stringent level.

While commanders can make detailed decisions about their bases, under the so-called Charlie measures schools, daycares and community activities may be canceled. It also introduces travel restrictions and more personnel may be ordered to work from home.

Family activities may also be restricted to homes for a prolonged period of time under the new measures.

The new measures, which some bases began instituting earlier this month, come as coronavirus cases surge across the US, including within the US military. CNN reported last week that the military reported a record high number of cases last Tuesday, with 1,314 new infections, according to Defense Department statistics.

As of last week there were about 25,000 active Covid-19 cases in the ranks, and another 44,390 service members had recovered from the virus, according to the Pentagon. The number of military cases has grown over the last few weeks as case counts have increased in the general population.

The Pentagon and military facilities in Washington, DC, are also seeing some increased restrictions due to the rise in cases in northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington. Those restrictions call for a resumption in increased teleworking, smaller group gatherings and restricted dining in facilities.

There are now approximately 400 active duty military medical personnel on “prepare to deploy” orders that would result in them being sent to help civilian health care facilities in various hotspots if requested by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While there have been medical personnel on this status for some time, in the last few weeks the timeframe for many of them to be ready to deploy has been cut to as little as 48 hours, according to two defense officials.

In the last few weeks, military medical teams have already deployed to El Paso, Texas, and North Dakota.