US BASES IN OKINAWA LOCKED DOWN DUE TO 61 CONFIRMED COVID CASES

Two US Marine bases in Okinawa have been put on lockdown by the military with 61 coronavirus cases confirmed this week, the prefectural government said late on Saturday, July 11, 2020, Kyodo news agency reported.

US forces told the Okinawa government the cases were confirmed between Tuesday and Saturday at US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen, and the two bases have been locked down, prefectural government officials said.

Lt. Gen. Stacy Clardy, commander of the III Marine Expeditionary Force and head of US forces in Okinawa, explained the infection situation at the military facilities to Gov. Denny Tamaki by phone, they said.

The Marine Corps said it "experienced two localized clusters of individuals who tested positive for the virus" and that all personnel who tested positive for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, are in isolation. Before the exact infection number was released, Tamaki said at a press conference he was "shocked" by the US forces' report on the new infections. "We have strong doubt about measures (taken by the U.S. troops) to prevent spread of the virus," he added.