U.S. soldiers and their families stationed in South Korea and Italy aren't allowed to leave those countries until at least May due to fears of spreading COVID-19 infections, the Army's top general in Europe is under self-imposed quarantine and the Navy is making plans to deal with potential outbreaks on board its ships as the deadly reach of the novel coronavirus begins to affect military operations worldwide.

The "stop movement order" issued for Italy and South Korea by the Army on Friday means that soldiers and their families are temporarily blocked from moving back to the U.S. Some have already moved out of their homes, shipped their belongings and cars to the U.S. and are staying in hotels as they wait to fly out.

"There is a big concern over how to get out of Italy for things such as to assist ill parents or family back home, unexpected deaths and other activities," Bevin Landrum, who lives near the U.S. base in Vicenza, Italy, with her Army husband, told weather.com in an email Tuesday. "It definitely feels as if we are more and more isolated."

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(MORE: Italy's Streets Are Hauntingly Empty as Nationwide Lockdown Begins)

Army personnel scheduled to move to Italy and South Korea are also on hold. The other services are considering similar measures, according to the Military Times.

Italian officials, meanwhile, put the entire country on lockdown Tuesday, prohibiting all travel unless it is work or health related.

Landrum and her husband are scheduled to depart Italy and move back to the U.S. on May 15, which is about a week after the current stop movement order is set to expire. But no one knows for sure if the order will be extended, or perhaps expanded to include bases in other locations.

"It's a big wait and see game right now," she said.

Landrum said mail delivery at the U.S. Post Office on the base was temporarily suspended, a big morale blow for families who rely on online shopping and care packages from home to make life overseas a little more familiar. 

When the post office reopened, patrons had to stand in a line that was taped off in 3-foot increments to encourage "social distancing," a mantra being promoted at bases in South Korea as well.

Sunday church services at the U.S. Army Garrison in Daegu, the city at the epicenter of South Korea's outbreak, were held outside, with worshippers sitting in folding chairs placed several feet apart.

There are about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, most of them Army.

Those heading into on-base grocery stores and retail outlets had their temperature checked. And just like in Italy, travel is restricted mostly to between work and home only.

"We all have a personal responsibility to do our part to contain the spread of the virus and protect each other, and this requires everyone's total commitment to stop the spread of COVID-19,” U.S Forces Korea said in a statement Tuesday.

Schools, daycare centers and other facilities on bases in both countries are shut down.

Italy had more than 10,100 cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning, the most of any location outside of mainland China. Some 630 people in Italy have died. One U.S. sailor stationed there has tested positive, according to Stars and Stripes.

South Korea has more than 7,700 cases, with 54 deaths. Eight people associated with the U.S. military there have been diagnosed with COVID-19, including soldiers, family members and civilian employees, according to U.S. Forces Korea.

In Germany, where the majority of U.S. forces in Europe are based, a top military leader is under self quarantine.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. Army Europe, and several members of his staff are working remotely after potentially being exposed to the virus during a recent conference, Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday.

Stars and Stripes newspaper reported the possible exposure happened during a meeting Friday with several other top NATO commanders at Cavoli’s headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany. Poland said one of its generals who attended the meeting had tested positive for COVID-19.

Navy officials are also worried about the disease, and are taking steps to react to any potential outbreaks on ships, where sailors work and sleep in very close quarters. A Navy spokesperson told the San Diego Union that any sailors who show symptoms will be restricted to their quarters for 14 days until they test negative for the virus.

The Navy had previously announced that ships in the 7th and 6th fleets will spend at least 14 days at sea in between port calls. Those ships operate around Asia, Europe and Africa.

Military officials said at a news briefing Monday that they are continuing to monitor how COVID-19 will impact bases and operations worldwide, and to top priorities are protection of servicemembers and their families, safeguarding key national security missions and capabilities and supporting the military's role in countering the outbreak.

“So to frame this from a medical standpoint, the immediate risk to our force remains low across the force and I want to be very clear about that,” Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs, the chief surgeon for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said. “We've had a handful of cases around the world. No one is seriously ill at this point, everyone that has been diagnosed is being appropriately treated, getting the care that they need.”

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