China News Service, July 13 (Xinhua) reported that the US military base in Okinawa, Japan, has recently experienced a mass infection of new coronary pneumonia, and at least 62 people have been diagnosed. Danny, the governor of Okinawa Prefecture, said that he was disappointed with the number of confirmed cases related to US military bases in Japan in a short period of time, and at the same time questioned that the US military did not take good anti-epidemic measures.
It is reported that the epidemic is related to the fact that US military personnel attended a party outside the base earlier. Japanese media analysis pointed out that US military aircraft can directly enter the base station and are not regulated by Japanese border control measures, making the US military base a blind spot for Japanese epidemic prevention.
Data picture: A man in Tokyo, Japan, wearing a mask, walks in the rain on an empty street.
[American Independence Day party caused an epidemic? 】
During the American Independence Day on July 4, although the US military stationed in Japan said that it would reduce the scale of the celebration in response to the epidemic, a large number of soldiers still held informal large-scale activities and successively left the camp to hold parties in the downtown area and the waterfront at night. Photos circulated on social media showed that the participants were dancing and dancing at the time, obviously not maintaining a social distance.
From the 5th to the 12th, at least 62 confirmed cases of new crowns appeared in the US military stationed in Japan. Among them, 38 were from Putianma Airport, 23 were from Hansen Barracks, and one was from the Jinse Camp, a logistics base in Putian City.
The U.S. military stated that the base of Putianma Airport and Hansen Battalion had been blocked, and only certain military personnel were allowed in and out. As early as March, there were 3 people infected at the Kadena U.S. military base in Okinawa. One person was infected on July 1 at Camp McTelus. A total of 66 people have been diagnosed so far.
In response to the epidemic situation, Japan has adopted strict border control and refused entry from the United States. However, according to the "Japan-US Status Agreement", US military personnel who enter bases in Japan may be exempted.
The Okinawa prefectural government said that the US military has isolated all the diagnosed patients in the base, but the prefectural government is not clear about the detailed history of the patients' activities and current symptoms. The Okinawa prefectural government believes that a mass infection has occurred at Putianma Airport and Hansen Camp, and requires the US military to raise the security level at the base to the highest level, stop sending personnel from the U.S. mainland to Okinawa, and ensure information flow.
It is reported that the U.S. military stationed in Okinawa has rented a hotel in Chatan-cho, Central, to isolate the U.S. military that recently entered Okinawa. However, how many U.S. forces are isolated here, the U.S. military has not disclosed to the Pokani-cho government.
[Governor of Okinawa questions US epidemic prevention measures]
Not only that, the U.S. military stationed in Okinawa was also reluctant to tell the Japanese about the activities and contact history of the U.S. military infected with the epidemic. At first, it also requested that the Japanese side cannot publish information such as the number of U.S. military infections, making it more difficult to prevent epidemic.
On the 11th, after the Okinawa Prefecture learned of the surge in the number of infected U.S. troops, Governor Jade City and Lieutenant General Corradi of the U.S. military base stationed in Okinawa made a phone call. Koradi said that if the prefectural government decides to release information on the U.S. military’s infection, the U.S. military will not interfere The county government only released relevant information.
Many people from Okinawa prefectures work at US military bases, and many companies regularly visit US military bases to discuss business. The personnel are in frequent contact, and officials worry that prefectural residents are infected. The people of Okinawa who lived near the two bases were very worried about the epidemic situation in the US military base across the wall, and said in unison that they were "terrible."
Ke Si, a 64-year-old resident, said the biggest problem now is the lack of relevant information. I don’t know if these US troops have contacted local residents.
Yucheng said: "We are working together with the county residents to work together to prevent epidemics. It is regrettable that the relevant personnel of the US military have many infections in a short period of time. This makes me have to strongly question the anti-epidemic measures of the US military." He urged the US To increase transparency, and at the same time hope that the Japanese government can exert pressure on the US side, "I hope that the central government will truly recognize the difficulty of being forced to bear the burden of excessive bases."