There has been a recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. Hansen camp in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of the 25th, 255 U.S. personnel have been reported to have been confirmed at Hansen Camp, affecting many Japanese employees. According to local media reports, on the evening of the 24th, a large number of U.S. soldiers still went to the streets without masks for drinking.
On the 25th, the U.S. military stationed in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, reported 19 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 15 came from Hansen Camp. As of the 25th, 10 Japanese in Okinawa Prefecture were infected with the mutant Omikjung strain of COVID-19, all of which were associated with U.S. military bases in Japan. The head of the Okinawa Prefecture Epidemic Prevention Department is worried that the Omickjung strain may have spread locally.
During the spread of the Hansen camp, Okinawa Prefecture police arrested two U.S. soldiers belonging to the camp late at night on the 20th and early morning on the 25th on suspicion of drunk driving. In order to prevent the spread of the epidemic, the Okinawa Prefecture Government asked the United States to ban the personnel of the base from going out.
Previously, Japanese Foreign Minister Lin Fangzheng confirmed on the 24th that the U.S. military waived all soldiers from the coronavirus screening obligation before going to Japan from September 3, on the grounds that they had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation TV reported on the 25th that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was extremely unhappy with the United States’s move and ordered a “severe protest” to the United States.
