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Coronavirus updates on Okinawa: Venues extended closure period

On Mar. 20, the government requested a continuous effort to avoid crowded places with poor ventilation.
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How the Pentagon's stop movement order is affecting military families

In many ways, military families are just like civilians during the coronavirus pandemic.
Col. Vincent Ciuccoli, commander of Headquarters and Support Battalion at Camp Smedley D. Butler, is screened for coronavirus symptoms at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, March 30, 2020. (U.S. MARINE CORPS)
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Public will be informed about positive coronavirus cases on Okinawa, US military says

The U.S. military on Okinawa is vowing transparency to its troops, their families and local civilian authorities, days after the Pentagon ordered commanders to stop publicly announcing new coronavirus cases on their bases.
Commercial jets are pulled to their gates at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, March 18, 2020. (AKIFUMI ISHIKAWA/STARS AND STRIP)
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Some US military personnel can still come to Japan despite nation’s new travel ban

Some U.S. military personnel are still able to come to Japan despite a policy imposed Friday that bars entry for those arriving from the United States and 72 other countries.
Capt. Brett Crozier, then-commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt addresses the crew during an all-hands call in the ship’s hangar bay March 3, 2020. Crozier was relieved of command after his letter that warned sailors could die from the coronavirus outbreak aboard the carrier was leaked to the media. (KAYLIANNA GENIER/U.S. NAVY)
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'Captain Crozier! Captain Crozier!': Videos show sailors sending off ousted USS Roosevelt commander with cheers

A cheering and applauding crowd of sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt wished farewell to their captain, whom the Navy relieved of command after he raised concerns about the spreading coronavirus on his ship in a letter that was leaked to the media.
Photos by Takahiro Takiguchi
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Handmade face mask – symbol of perseverance, love and hope

Wherever you go, whether a store or online, disposable facemasks are sold out due to the rapid outbreak of COVID-19.
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Nearly 2,000 VA patients, 500 staff have tested positive for coronavirus

Nearly 2,000 veterans and more than 500 Department of Veterans Affairs employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data released by the department Thursday.
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TATAMI: What’s the deal with those Japanese floor mats?

Tatami is a very traditional floor mat - both symbolic and indispensable - for a Japanese style room called “wa-shitsu.” It is also considered an official cultural item used in such Japanese architecture as temples and tea rooms.
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Mental Notes with Hilary Valdez: Finding your place in intercultural marriage

Well, I fell in love a few times. Both to Japanese women. The initial “honeymoon phase” was fun, easy, loving and light. The Yin and Yang was perfectly balanced and harmony prevailed. We had a perfect marriage learning to enjoy and joke about our differences.
Many establishments were shuttered on the evening of March 31, 2020, at a popular entertainment district known as Bar Row near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. THERON GODBOLD/STARS AND STRIPES
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Tokyo to keep many public spots shuttered as coronavirus infections surge across the city

Zoos, museums and some parks will remain closed until at least May 6 as coronavirus infections surge across the city, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday.
A sign displays coronavirus-prevention information at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, March 26, 2020. TYLER FRASER/U.S. NAVY
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Some Japan-based sailors told to move from barracks to make room for quarantining personnel

Some sailors were ordered out of the barracks here and onto their assigned ships to make room for quarantined sailors as the base battles a coronavirus outbreak, a base spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
In a Jan. 17, 2020 photo, Capt. Brett Crozier, commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, addresses the crew. ALEXANDER WILLIAMS/U.S. NAVY
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Captain of USS Roosevelt relieved of command after letter about coronavirus outbreak was leaked

The captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was relieved of command Thursday, two days after his letter warning that an outbreak of the coronavirus aboard the aircraft carrier could threaten sailors’ lives was leaked to the media.
Taking part in Team Rubicon's Neighbors Helping Neighbors campaign, Michael Ilyinky moves food from the Cincinnati Art Museum to La Soupe to help feed those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. The campaign aims to give people a way to help their local community during the coronavirus pandemic while not further spreading the virus. JASON WHITMAN/CONTRIBUTED
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Military nonprofits step up to help those impacted by the coronavirus

Marine Corps veteran Michael Spivey was competing at the Para Snowboard World Cup in Norway earlier this month when the U.S. announced a travel ban from Europe to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The U.S. government returned 270 acres on Camp Foster to the Okinawa prefectural government on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. MATT BURKE/STARS AND STRIPES
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US returns 27 acres of land on Okinawa Marine Corps base back to locals

The U.S. government returned a small portion of a Marine Corps base to the Okinawa prefectural government Tuesday in what amounts to the last planned land return without preconditions.
Defense Health Agency director, Army Lt. Gen. Ron Place, visited medical personnel at a COVID-19 screening station outside the Emergency Department at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. WRNMMC instituted additional safety measures including separate entry points for staff and patients to screen for coronavirus symptoms on March 12, 2020. (MHS photo by Navy Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Benson)
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From the front lines to the home front, Military Medicine is always ready

Who would have imagined this? We’ve stopped almost everything else we were doing and turned our energies toward fighting this pandemic.
Sailors work on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) March 18, 2020, while transiting the Philippine Sea. On Wednesday, April 1, the Navy said it is working to move most of the crew off the aircraft carrier because of a coronavirus outbreak on the ship. BRANDON RICHARDSON/U.S. NAVY
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93 coronavirus cases among Roosevelt sailors as Navy works to remove most of the crew

The Navy is working to remove some 2,700 sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt by Friday in an attempt to slow a spreading coronavirus outbreak on the aircraft carrier now docked off the coast of Guam, senior service officials said Wednesday.