Pentagon plan to reopen could have personnel back in their offices in next six weeks
In a best-case scenario, most of the 22,000 people who work at the Pentagon could be back in their offices within six weeks, but defense officials cautioned Tuesday that any resurgence of COVID-19 cases may halt their return.
Based on a plan the Pentagon released Tuesday, if conditions are met, the installation could see its mall-sized food court and massive gym reopen in as few as four weeks, with social distancing enforced and frequent cleaning required.
The building reported its’ first two coronavirus cases March 20. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said last week that the building and surrounding defense facilities have had 152 reported cases.
Officials are planning to reopen the Pentagon in several phases. The Pentagon is currently in phase zero, which is to be followed by the “restricted,” “moderate,” “normal,” and “resilience” phases. The decision to move into each new phase will be made if the previous two weeks of available data show a downward trend in COVID-19 cases among the affected personnel, both in the Pentagon and in the surrounding Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia communities.
Inside the Pentagon, they started to notice the numbers level off, then decrease beginning May 14, said Lisa Hershman, the Pentagon’s chief management officer.
“We have eight days of a downward trend,” Hershman said.
The plan released Tuesday also has guidance for local commanders on how to assess lifting travel restrictions and local movement restrictions.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic still presents risk to DOD Service members, their families, and our civilian workforce, improving conditions warrant a transition in our approach to domestic and overseas personnel travel to a conditions-based, phased approach to personnel movement and travel,” the Pentagon said in a statement accompanying the guidelines.
Besides the 22,000 who work in the Pentagon directly, another estimated 50,000 personnel work in Department of Defense facilities around the region.
However, the communities surrounding the Pentagon have shown an uptick in cases, and those cases also need to show a downward trend in order to reopen, according to a memo released by the Pentagon Tuesday that outlines the steps to reopening.
“We’re taking that into consideration as well,” Hershman said of the surrounding communities.
Hoffman said the building would be following guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services on the trend data in the region and whether conditions were met to reopen.
The Pentagon is currently in “phase zero,” where more than two-thirds of its workforce is teleworking, and many of its supporting amenities are closed, Hershman said.
Even when each of the phases is passed, the Pentagon won’t be completely the same. The Pentagon describes phase four, “after return to normal,” as a phase where tours will reopen to visitors and gatherings won’t be restricted, but increased screening will remain in place, and the building will “incorporate lessons learned and prepare for the next pandemic.”
