Infections surge at U.S. military bases in Okinawa

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:10 JST, January 3, 2022

NAHA — Seventy new coronavirus cases were confirmed Sunday among the U.S. military personnel and staff in Okinawa Prefecture, the day after the military saw a daily high of 235 infections, the prefectural government said.

The omicron variant of the coronavirus has spread among the U.S. military in the prefecture, but Naha has not received any information on whether the variant is responsible for any of the positive cases confirmed Saturday and Sunday.

Community transmission of omicron has spread in the prefecture.

Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki told reporters Sunday that the U.S. forces “lack awareness that the spread of omicron in the prefecture originated from the U.S. military.”

Meanwhile, in Aomori Prefecture, the Misawa city government reported Sunday that three people from the U.S. military’s Misawa Air Base tested positive for the virus, bringing the total number of COVID-19 patients at the base to 24. The U.S. military has not announced whether omicron is responsible for any of the positive cases.