China News Service, September 8, According to Kyodo News, the new crown epidemic is gradually affecting the activities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
On the frigate that Japan is about to be sent overseas, there have been two consecutive cases of delayed departure due to confirmed cases of new crown infection.
At present, the total number of infected self-defense team members exceeds 110.
According to reports, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's frigate "Muraame" is the third group dispatched to the Middle East to ensure the safety of Japanese ships.
On August 30, the frigate departed from Yokosuka base, but on September 1, one person on board was diagnosed with the new crown.
After that, the frigate returned to the base for a while, let the infected team members disembark, and discussed the time to start again.
Prior to July, the Aegis ship Ashigara, affiliated with the Sasebo base, also appeared infected with the new crown, which delayed its departure to participate in the U.S. Hawaii Rim Pacific Joint Exercise (RIMPAC) by 10 days.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force officials revealed: "The same situation may happen in the future. You can only make mental preparations and make corresponding plans."
According to reports, the above-mentioned ships all carried out polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection on board soon after setting sail.
These ships originally planned to stay in the coast of Japan for 14 days, and after confirming that there were no infected persons, they went to their destinations.
The officials of the Ministry of Defense said: "The dispatch time will be longer and the burden on the team members will increase, but the priority is to avoid the risk of mass infection after leaving Japan."
The report pointed out that in order to prevent the movement of troops and lead to the spread of the epidemic, the Ground Self-Defense Force completely required its members to wear masks and tried to restrict the use of private facilities such as rest stations on the highway; the training ground reduced the number of tent accommodations to less than the rated number, etc., pay attention to maintaining Social distancing.
A cadre from Lu Zi said: "The new crown countermeasures have also caused a burden on the one hand, but only the ability to fight and activities are balanced."
A Self-Defense Force official mentioned that the spread of the epidemic has caused the US aircraft carrier to be paralyzed, saying that “the new crown may severely limit the capabilities of the Self-Defense Force, and it is necessary to maintain the greatest degree of vigilance.