US Air Force Warns Coronavirus May Cause More Closures at Military Bases in Europe

The Commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Tod D. Wolters speaks to journalists at the Siauliai Air Base in Siauliai, Lithuania, on Aug. 30, 2017. Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images

The top U.S. general in Europe said on Feb. 25 that some military bases in Italy could be closed beyond March 1 as outbreaks of the coronavirus continue to spread throughout Europe.

Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, who leads U.S. European Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington that a “fair amount” of the military’s 35,000 soldiers in Italy are “just sitting at home right now trying to avoid the coronavirus.”