[Washington Examiner] China’s coronavirus outbreak is spreading through Europe, posing a challenge to European Union health officials and the thousands of U.S. troops deployed on the continent."The coronavirus has reached Europe for the first time in a situation where we don’t understand every chain of infection and they can’t be connected directly to China," German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Tuesday. "This means we have a new situation to deal with. I have said it could get worse before it gets better, and this assessment still stands."
That sober outlook comes as health officials have concluded that the coronavirus is likely to spread in the United States, where "disruption to everyday life might be severe." U.S. troops at a base in Italy are living under restrictions, as Army officials have closed on-base schools and other facilities in response to a spike in coronavirus cases in two Italian regions.
"Those facilities remain closed, and the travel to the two states are still prohibited in Italy," Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, the NATO supreme allied commander and commander of European Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier Tuesday.
There are more than 6,000 members of the U.S. military at the base in Vicenza, roughly 70% of whom are accompanied by spouses and children, "and over 35,000 U.S. military members in Italy," Wolters said.
"And they're all mostly just sitting at home right now trying to avoid the coronavirus?" Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, asked Wolters during the hearing.
"Not mostly, but there's a fair amount, yes, sir," the general replied.
Italian authorities have confirmed 212 coronavirus cases in Lombardy, 11 of which proved fatal, and another 110 cases elsewhere in the country.
"I cannot say that I am not worried. I don't want anyone to think that we are underestimating this emergency," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Tuesday, "but I can say that, with the measures we have enforced, I am faithful that we will have a containment effect in the coming days."
The virus has spread from Italy to Austria, Croatia, and Spain, according to authorities from the respective governments, and multiple cases have been detected in Germany, which is home to the European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, raising the possibility that the restrictions in Vicenza may soon be adopted in the country.
"We’re anticipating an increase in the number of cases reported in Germany," Wolters said, "and we're prepared to execute."
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