Any patient with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 is being provided with the CDC guidance on how to self-isolate.

When an individual is diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within a military medical treatment facility (MTF), the MTF notifies installation, local and/or state public health officials—these public health officials conduct a contact investigation in accordance with Service or locality protocols.

For service members with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, military public health takes the lead on investigating potential military contacts and local or state public health takes the lead on investigating potential non-military contacts.

The lead investigator will contact all affected individuals, interview them, and provide education and guidance on how to keep themselves and their families as safe as possible.

On May 26, DoD issued new guidance on deployment and redeployment of service members, including members of the National Guard. The guidance addresses screening and testing for COVID-19 and policies for restricted movement before and after deployment.

The Department of Defense is following CDC guidance for the screening, testing, and quarantine of individuals based on their travel history and potential exposure history. The service members will be screened, tested, and quarantined in accordance with CDC guidance.

Anyone on DoD property is required to wear cloth face coverings when they cannot maintain six feet from others in public areas or work centers (this does not include personal residences). The Services will issue their own guidance on wear for service members. Medical personal protective equipment such as surgical masks are reserved for appropriate personnel, so individuals are expected to create their own face masks using household items like clean T-shirts or other clean cloths that can cover the nose and mouth. You may be asked to lower your face cover at security checkpoints to verify identification.

Service and component commanders, in consultation with public health officials and in accordance with CDC guidance, are implementing additional measures to reduce the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. These include adding force health protection measures such as the use of personal protective equipment, gate guards wearing gloves and not touching ID cards, but rather scanning them.

Follow the latest COVID-related DoDEA information on the DoDEA website.

The updated guidance includes additional options for screening children upon arrival to ensure children who have a fever or other signs of illness are not admitted to a child care facility. The additional options may be useful when personal protective equipment is in short supply; such as, initial social distancing to observe any signs of illness or reliance on a barrier/partition.

If you have pulled your children from child care due to center closure or coronavirus concerns, Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) requests that you state the reason why the child was not in care when submitting documents for the fee assistance program. For example: “Child was not in care from 3/1/2021-3/19/2021 due to Coronavirus concerns. Cost of care for the month of March is $750.”

Should you have additional questions, contact CCAoA at 1-800-424-2246 or email at militaryinfo@childcareaware.org. In your email include your branch, family ID, and which program you are applying for. You can continue to check your status online at www.childcareaware.org by logging into your account.

Service members should communicate with their commands about child care needs and whether telework is a viable option. Many essential personnel have priority at CDCs now, so contact your CDC to find out about care options whether you fall into a higher priority.

This decision will be made at the installation level. Please work directly with your installation for answers about closures and refunds.

COMDT, in concert with their DoD counterparts, has established emergency operation guidance for Coast Guard child care programs. Read the guidance.

DoD has issued domestic travel restrictions for service members and their families. For families, these restrictions only apply to government-funded travel. Please refer to their travel restriction FAQ for most of your questions. In short: PCSs, TDYs, and liberty have been restricted through June 30.

Families seeking exceptions to this policy or who have follow-up questions should go to their command for answers and approvals.

Per existing policy, coverage will not change even when a member is unable to drill. RC members should expect that any missed premium payments will be subsequently deducted in a lump sum once IDT, Annual Training, or Active Duty for Training resumes and they are once again in a pay status.

DoD has created an infographic to help explain these changes and your responsibilities.

The TRS health plan is available for purchase by qualified members of the Selected Reserve (SelRes). TRS monthly premiums cannot be waived. However, to address concerns that members of the SelRes may be unable to pay the premiums due to COVID-19, the Tricare contractor will delay terminating coverage until 90 days after the date the COVID-19 emergency has ended. Unpaid premiums accumulate each month and cannot be waived. If not fully paid within 90 days after the end date of COVID-19, coverage will be terminated retroactive to the last premium paid-through date. If any TRICARE payments were made for those uncovered dates of service, the TRICARE contractor will be required to recoup the payments.

TRICARE has an infographic to help explain these changes and your responsibilities.

DoD has released guidance for leave, pay, and allowances affected by COVID-19 and the stop movement order.

A new DoD order will double the amount of leave active-duty service members are allowed to accrue, raising the maximum number of leave days from 60 to 120. The expanded accrual maximum is retroactive to March 11 and will remain in place until September 30, 2020. Unused leave can be retained until the end of fiscal year 2023. Learn more about the order here.

A newly-authorized pay, Hardship Duty Pay – Restriction of Movement (HDP-ROM), is taxable pay that compensates service members who are ordered by their commander, in conjunction with health care providers, to self-monitor in isolation somewhere other than their home or a government-funded lodging facility.

Check out this infographic for more information on hardship duty pay.

HDP-ROM is only payable in situations in which the member remains assigned to the same permanent duty station at a rate of $100 per day, not to exceed $1,500 per month.

For more information, check out this Infographic on the impact of travel restrictions on BAH entitlements.

The Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) have been updated to provide guidance on per diem affected by COVID-19. Service members who have been ordered to self-isolate and restrict movement while on TDY may receive extended orders from their command to authorize continued TDY travel and transportation allowances until able to return to the service member’s permanent duty station.

Military families in the midst of a PCS whose travel has been halted after checking out of their detaching command will likely be eligible for per diem to cover lodging, meals, and incidental expenses while awaiting transportation. Families are encouraged to maintain communication with both detaching and gaining commands.

Military families who are not authorized on PCS orders to travel concurrently with the service member due to travel restrictions will be authorized Family Separation Housing Allowance (FSH) and Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) at the new duty station if ALL of the following conditions are met:

• Government quarters are not available at the new duty station,
• The member has obtained private-sector housing, and
• The dependent(s) does not reside at or near the new permanent duty station.

Service members who are self-monitoring and receive food (room service) from a government dining facility should not lose Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS), but they will likely have to pay for those meals under the dining rate rules unless granted an exception by his/her commander.

BAS II (twice the monthly rate) may be authorized for service members ordered to self-monitor in lodging that cannot store food, which in turn requires the service member to get his/her meals from a commercial source. However, BAS II may only be authorized in these circumstances if it is uniformly authorized for all enlisted members in similar situations or in the same geographic area.

The President announced that interest on federal student loans would be waived, including direct loans, Federal Perkins Loans, and Federal Family Education Loan Program loans. The Department of Education is also providing the ability for all borrowers with a federally held loan to suspend payments until after January 31, 2022. We encourage you to work with your student loan servicer if you need assistance repaying loans due to the pandemic. FAQs about this announcement can be found here.

DoD streamlined the certification process for child beneficiaries of the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity. Applications can be processed without signatures from school officials or transcripts. The new form can be accessed here. The online submission portal is here. Additional details about the new process can be found here.

Food pantries operate on or near every military installation across the country, and many are run by Armed Services YMCA. If you need help feeding your family, please reach out to your local ASYMCA branch to confirm their pantry’s operating hours. Feeding America also has food banks across the country. You can search for one near you here.

Many public school districts are still providing two meals to-go per day and some are expanding the free and reduced lunch program to include free meals for all students. You may also be able to pick up meals from the school you live closest to instead of the school you attend. Visit your local school district’s website for updates.

For overseas military children conducting virtual learning in South Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Europe, and Guantanamo Bay, Exchanges have implemented grab-and-go meals for school-aged children. More than 10,000 meals have been served during the pandemic. Please reach out to your local exchange for exact times and pick up locations.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly known as food stamps) can help low-income families pay for food. Eligibility is based on your household’s size, income and expenses.To find out more about SNAP, or to apply for the benefit, contact your state office. Find your state’s office online, or call 800-221-5689 to hear the toll-free number for your state’s program.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides nutritious foods and nutrition education to low-income pregnant women, women who have recently given birth, and infants and children up to age five. Learn more online at the USDA’s WIC website.

The Military Family Advisory Network, our partners in better understanding food insecurity in military families so we can advocate on your behalf, has compiled a list of resources that might help you.

Army Emergency Relief

Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society

Air Force Aid Society

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance

VA Board Expands Virtual Hearings

Veterans appealing VA benefits decisions now have expanded access to virtual hearings. Virtual hearings are a secure, confidential, and convenient option for veterans and do not require going to a VA facility due to the temporary suspension of in-person hearings.

TRICARE has announced that it will cover mental health services offered via telehealth. Covered treatments include individual therapy, group or family therapy, medication assisted treatment, opioid treatment programs, and intensive outpatient programs, which include medication management, case management, recreational therapy, occupational therapy, and discharge planning. Services must be offered via secure video conferencing. Check with your provider to see if they offer telehealth services.

The Military and Family Life Counseling Program now offers phone and video non-medical counseling. This is available in areas where face-to-face support is restricted due to COVID-19. More info can be found here.

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) released a new policy regarding the provision of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy using telehealth. TRICARE will cover ABA provided via HIPAA-compliant two-way audio and video in limited circumstances. The CPT code eligible for telehealth services is 97156, Parent/Caregiver Guidance. This policy will be in effect until at least May 31. For more information, go to https://health.mil/autism or https://TRICARE.mil/coronavirus.

In addition to ABA services by telehealth, TRICARE also covers telehealth physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy and more by when medically necessary.

COVID-19 has led to increased demand for albuterol and levalbuterol inhalers used by people with asthma and other respiratory conditions. In response to this increased demand, TRICARE announced on April 10 that it’s implementing quantity limits on those two drugs. Beneficiaries will now be limited to one inhaler every 30 days. As production of the drugs increases to meet demand, the limitations may be lifted; check back here for updates.

No pharmacy copays will be waived except where specifically mandated by HR 6201 (Families First Coronavirus Response Act). While DHA originally said that early refills would be available, that is no longer the case.

From DHA:

At this time, there is no plan to alter current refill restrictions. The TRICARE Pharmacy Benefit allows for limited early refills dependent on patient situation and pharmacist’s clinical judgement. Patients seeking an early refill should speak with their MTF or Retail Pharmacist, or if using the TRICARE Mail Order Pharmacy, call Express Scripts at 1-877-363-1303 (TRICARE specific).

On March 24, DoD directed all Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) and Dental Treatment Facilities (DTFs) to postpone all elective surgeries and dental procedures for 60 days, effective March 31. Individuals affected by this postponement will be contacted by their health care provider. This policy applies to all beneficiaries who use MTFs or DTFs, including service members, families and retirees. For more information, visit DoD’s Fact Sheet.

Military commissaries worldwide are installing plexiglass sneeze shields in all regular checkout lanes to add extra protection for customers and cashiers. They will not be placed at self-checkout stands. In all checkout lanes, individuals will be asked to scan their own ID cards and no shopper-provided reusable bags may be used when bagging groceries.

To reduce the spread of coronavirus, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) will begin daily health screenings of anyone who works in commissaries – including employees, baggers and affiliated contractors – before they start their shifts. This new policy goes into effect May 8. More details can be found here.

The participating installation identifies a volunteer group to manage the program in which volunteers grocery shop for eligible patrons (some locations selected the chaplains’ office or a spouses club). The exchanges are also using this program to serve recently returning troops in quarantine at Forts Belvoir, Benning, Bliss, Bragg, Drum, Jackson, Lee, Riley and Myer; Camps Casey, Humphreys and Fuji; Schofield Barracks; Charleston, Hickam, Keesler, Shaw and Tyndall Air Force Bases; and Joint Bases Langley-Eustis, McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and Elmendorf-Richardson. Those staying at the installations’ restricted quarantine areas can order snacks, drinks and personal hygiene products via phone or email. The order is then delivered to an intermediary at the troops’ quarantine location at no additional cost, usually on the same or next day.

The following installations are currently also participating: Ansbach, Stuttgart (Kelley Barracks, Panzer Kaserne and Robinson Barracks) in Germany; Aviano Air Base, Italy; Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland; Fort Hamilton, New York; and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Additional information can be found here.

According to DeCA, they are increasing deliveries to commissaries ‘where the need is greatest’ – which they note is especially those overseas. They are putting particular emphasis on high-demand items like liquid sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and toilet paper, but purchases of high-demand products may be limited.

The AAFES exchange stores are open at most locations but hours may be reduced or changed to allow for thorough cleaning and restocking. AAFES restaurants are open—but transitioning to take-out service to align with social distancing measures. The Military Clothing stores, Express gas stations, and malls are open but hours may vary. Stringent cleaning procedures are in place at customer service and sales points, restrooms, theaters, and restaurants. There is an around-the-clock effort to ensure critical supplies are in stock. There may be purchase limits on products in certain areas. The Exchange’s Disaster Support Group is working to expedite support to impacted areas. Service members and their families can use the Exchange’s Buy Online, Pick Up in Store service. Shoppers simply go to ShopMyExchange.com, click on what they need and select the “Pick Up in Store” option. Their local Exchange will contact them when their order is ready to be picked up.

NEXCOM incorporated additional air shipments to key overseas locations, which has helped get supplies to places like NEX Naples and Sigonella. All NEX stores are open but some have restricted hours so check your individual store’s Facebook page and on myNavyExchange.com. NEX stores have limited purchase quantities of certain products to two products, per customer, per day. All in-store vendor and sales events are cancelled so any flyers or sales coupons you receive in the mail might not apply. All special sales prices, both in-store and online, will be honored. Additionally, all purchases made on myNavyExchange.com will receive free standard shipping.

Barber Shops

Check with your local installation. The Army & Air Force Exchange Service has opened two mobile barber shops at Fort Lee and Fort Leonard Wood so Soldiers can receive their military haircuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.