The U.S. Air Force has suspended its physical fitness testing until at least June amid concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, the service announced Thursday.
Effective immediately, members who were slated to take the PT test between now and May will have it delayed for six months, according to a post on Twitter.
That means those scheduled to test in March will do so in September; those scheduled for April will now test in October; and airmen scheduled to test in May have until November.
The service stressed that, while airmen must remain attentive and take necessary precautions amid the COVID-19 outbreak, they should still "maintain a healthy, fit lifestyle."
"Commitment to fitness is a commitment to the mission," the post states.
Related: Navy Suspends Sailor Fitness Tests as Other Services Eye Changes
Earlier this week, the unofficial but popular Facebook page "Air Force amn/nco/snco" posted photographs of documents appearing to show the cancellation of all Air Force fitness testing until June.
The announcement comes one day after the U.S. Navy said that sailors who were due to take a physical fitness assessment (PFA) in the first half of 2020 will have that requirement waived.
According to a NAVADMIN message, all sailors will be excused from the PFA in Cycle 1 of 2020, including those who have already taken the test. The cycle runs from Jan. 1 through June 30.
"All official PFA records affected by this policy will be updated by the Physical Readiness Program office," the NAVADMIN states, adding that the office will work with the Bureau of Naval Personnel to excuse all personnel in the cycle from testing. That waiver will be reflected in the Navy's Physical Readiness Information Management System.
The suspensions follows the recent recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that gatherings of 50 or more should be disbanded for next eight weeks across the U.S. in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The Defense Department said that, as of Thursday morning, 51 military members, nine civilians, 10 dependents and 11 contractors have been diagnosed with the virus. Of those, 17 people have been hospitalized and three have recovered, the DoD said.
-- Hope Hodge Seck contributed to this report.
-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.
Read more: COVID-19 coverage
