Coronavirus: US troops in Japan must stay on base; Australia tops 1 million infections
- Japan warns US to enforce stricter anti-pandemic rules for troops, saying recent Covid-19 clusters came from infected American service personnel
- Elsewhere, India rolls out booster shots as cases soar; Karachi reports alarming rise in Covid-19 cases; 85-year-old gets 12 vaccine doses, wants more
US troops in Japan have stopped making non-essential visits off-base for two weeks from Monday, as local officials in areas hosting the forces link them with a sharp rise in coronavirus infections.
The announcement came as the government imposed new virus restrictions in three regions, including Okinawa, that host major US bases or are near them. Many Japanese officials believe the recent Covid-19 clusters originated from infected American service members coming into contact with local residents.
On Friday, Japan’s foreign and defence ministers had warned their US counterparts to implement stricter anti-pandemic rules for US troops.
“Movement of USFJ (US Forces, Japan) personnel outside (US military-related) facilities and areas will be restricted to essential activities only,” read a joint statement from the Japanese government and the USFJ issued late Sunday.
Service members will also have to wear masks when they are outside their homes, it added. In mid-December, the US military reported clusters of cases among its members in a southern region of Okinawa, which subsequently saw a sharp rise of cases in the local community.
Japan has imposed strict border control measures, such as quarantine and frequent testing, on those who enter the country from abroad.