Okinawa coronavirus surge spurs further restrictions for American troops
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Buy PhotoTokyo reported 614 new coronavirus infections and six deaths on Friday, May 28, 2021. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO American military bases on Okinawa tightened their restrictions again Friday as the prefecture announced another one-day record of new coronavirus patients.
Meanwhile, U.S. installations across Japan reported four new coronavirus cases – three at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and one at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa.
The island prefecture reported 313 newly infected people on Friday, the highest one-day count there of the pandemic, according to public broadcaster NHK and prefectural data. Though small by comparison to other prefectures, the spring viral wave on Okinawa is creating twice the patients of a surge in August.
Bar and nightclub ban is ending for fully vaccinated US troops in South Korea
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Local bars and nightclubs will no longer be off-limits to fully vaccinated personnel with U.S. Forces Korea starting Friday, May 28, 2021. (Pixabay)
A coronavirus-induced alcohol drought is ending for fully vaccinated U.S. personnel on the Korean Peninsula.
Starting Friday, local bars and nightclubs will no longer be off-limits to those associated with U.S. Forces Korea – service members, Defense Department civilian workers, contractors and their families – USFK announced Thursday on Facebook.
However, “all bars and clubs remain off-limits to partially vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals,” the post said.
US military bases in Japan continue to update their travel limits in prefectures where coronavirus conditions are changing and where emergencies are underway.
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. (U.S. Marine Corps)
26 May 2021 Stars and Stripes | By Joseph Ditzler
TOKYO Japan s latest coronavirus surge spurred U.S. military bases to impose further travel restrictions on Wednesday as the nation s two largest metro areas looked at extending their public health emergencies.
Case numbers continued to fall Wednesday in Tokyo and Osaka prefectures, though Japan overall recorded its highest one-day tally of 4,176 new infections, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The report said Tokyo and Osaka are considering requests to the national government that would allow both prefectures to extend emergency declarations that were imposed April 12 and extended May 7. Six of Japan s 47 prefectures were under a state of emergency in April. That number grew to 10 this month.
A warning for Americans to avoid travel to Japan due to its latest coronavirus surge will not affect U.S. athletes’ participation in the Tokyo Olympics, the chief cabinet secretary said Tuesday.