War games are being scrapped as the coronavirus spreads, but a massive exercise involving thousands of US troops is still on in Europe

• Several joint military exercises involving US military personnel have already been canceled, postponed, or scaled down in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
• But, as the virus tears through parts of Europe, Defender Europe 20, one of the largest joint war games in decades, is still on, although additional guidance is expected in the near future.
• "Right now, the epicenter - the new China - is Europe," Robert Redfield, the head of the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.
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As the coronavirus, now a pandemic, spreads around the world, militaries are being forced to rethink joint war games. Several exercises involving the US military have already been scaled down, postponed, or canceled in response.

The US and South Korea made the decision to postpone until further notice a joint combined command post training event in late February in response to the coronavirus.

Other exercises soon followed.

In early March, the US and Israel canceled two joint military exercises. Those moves were followed by a decision Tuesday to scale down the African Lion exercises, which involve the US, Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal, and on Wednesday, Norway made the decision to end Cold Response, an Arctic exercise involving troops from eight countries, early.

"The health of our force continues to be a top priority," US European Command said in a statement on Norway's cancelation of the exercise.

In response to the outbreak, the US military has taken a number of force protection measures, to include restricting travel, closing facilities, and prohibiting certain activities.

The big question is how the coronavirus will affect Defender Europe 20, one of the largest joint military exercises since the Cold War. The US is planning to send 20,000 US soldiers to Europe for the training, which will involve a total of 37,000 participants operating together across several different countries in a message to powerful rivals like Russia.

Some US troops have already arrived in Europe for this military exercise, but the bulk of US forces are not there yet.

US Army Europe deputy commander Maj. Gen. Andrew Rohling told reporters earlier this month that the Army was "war-gaming" coronavirus contingency plans for Defender Europe 20.

Additional guidance is expected in the near future. "We're actively monitoring that," an Army spokesman told Insider Wednesday. "There are a number of courses of action we are looking at."

The coronavirus (COVID-19) originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, but it has since spread to countries around the world, with some of the hardest hit places being countries like South Korea, Italy, Germany, and the US.

The coronavirus outbreak in Europe is of particular concern at the moment. "Right now, the epicenter - the new China - is Europe," Robert Redfield, the head of the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.