Coronavirus cases surge for US military in Japan; three sailors, two airmen, Army dependent test positive

TOKYO – Commanders ordered people to shelter in place and enacted other safety measures for U.S. personnel in Japan, where five active-duty service members and one dependent have tested positive for coronavirus since Thursday.

Late Saturday, the Air Force’s 18th Wing confirmed that two airmen assigned to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa have been infected. Both individuals, who are not part of the same unit, recently returned from Europe, 18th Wing commander Brig. Gen. Joel Carey said in a video posted to Facebook. Their symptoms developed during a 15-day period of restricted movement.

The wing later announced a tactical pause for Monday and Tuesday.

“Commanders will use this 48-hour period to further educate their teams and their families on [the coronavirus] and reinforce understanding and execution of current Restriction of Movement procedures as well as other measures we’ve put in place to protect our forces,” said a message on Kadena’s official Facebook page.

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