DODEA-Japan bans air, rail travel to sports games in March over coronavirus concerns

Air and train travel by DODEA-Japan sports teams to weekend games in March has been canceled by the district, citing “growing concern across the Pacific region” over the novel coronavirus, the district said Tuesday.

“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to halt air and rail travel during the month of March” to sports events, DODEA-Japan chief of staff Wendy Cooley said in a statement.

But school administrators, athletics directors and coaches are “scrambling” to rebuild the DODEA-Japan spring sports schedule on short notice, Matthew C. Perry boys soccer coach Mark Lange said.

The schools affected most are the ones at the farthest ends of two of Japan’s main islands, Robert D. Edgren on Misawa Air Base, 430 miles north of Tokyo in northern Honshu, and E.J. King at Sasebo Naval Base, 750 miles southwest of Tokyo near the southern tip of Kyushu.

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