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Old 07-09-2020, 06:48 AM
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Exclamation Marine, Navy bases in Japan fight new coronavirus infections as cases surge in Tokyo

Marine, Navy bases in Japan fight new coronavirus infections as cases surge in Tokyo
By: DAVE ORNAUER & AYA ICHIHASHI - STARS & STRIPES - July 9, 2020
Re: https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific...tokyo-1.636871

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – The Navy and Marine Corps in Japan moved Thursday to isolate and track coronavirus cases that have popped up on their installations on Okinawa and just outside Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the governor of Tokyo reported 224 new infections in the metro area Thursday, a surge that exceeded the previous high of 206 on April 17.

For a second time this week, an undisclosed number of people associated with the Marine Corps on Okinawa tested positive for the virus, adding to the number of cases there, according to a Thursday news release from Marine Corps Installations Pacific.

Naval Air Facility Atsugi, south of Tokyo in Kanagawa prefecture, also “discovered some cases” of the coronavirus Thursday, prompting base commander Capt. Lloyd Mack to order a lockdown at 2:45 p.m., a Navy spokesman said by phone Thursday.

“Just to protect the community and make sure that we prevent the spread, the skipper elected to go to shelter-in-place while it is investigated,” said spokesman Howard Samuelson.

In Tokyo, the 224 new cases are the highest daily number since the outbreak began, Gov. Yuriko Koike said during a meeting of the city’s coronavirus response headquarters. Tokyo has been generally off-limits to U.S. troops, Defense Department civilian employees and their families.

On Okinawa, the Marines on Thursday would not specify how many people tested positive, only that they fell under the status of forces agreement and were on installations that comprise the widespread Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on March 27 ordered commanders to stop reporting new coronavirus cases on their installations, citing security concerns. The policy is not uniformly adhered to.

Camp Hansen was on lockdown overnight from 10:43 p.m. Wednesday to 9:22 a.m. Thursday to allow contact tracing and cleaning, according to the Marine release Thursday.

It did not specifically tie Hansen to the new coronavirus cases. The infected individuals were quarantined, the release said.

However, the Okinawa Defense Bureau is gathering information on Japanese employees at Hansen and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma who may have had contact with the affected U.S. personnel, according to a bureau spokesman.

Government spokespeople in Japan frequently speak anonymously as a condition of their employment.

The latest cases’ movements are being traced to determine if they had contact with locals, an Okinawa prefectural spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

MCAS Futenma was locked down for four hours Tuesday after “several” people there tested positive for the coronavirus; those individuals were also isolated, according to the Marines.

“These measures are put in place to ensure the safety and well-being of our forces, families and our Okinawa neighbors,” Thursday’s release stated. “We are taking all measures to prevent the further spread of COVID-19,” the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

For the moment, U.S. bases on Okinawa remain under Health Protection Condition Bravo, which signals a “moderate” risk of the coronavirus spreading, Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Tim Hays told Stars and Stripes by phone Thursday.

The Marines will make no further statements about new coronavirus cases to the media, Thursday’s release stated, in keeping with Esper’s instructions “and to protect the privacy of those affected by COVID-19.”

As of Wednesday, the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has tallied 20,371 cases of the coronavirus and 981 deaths.

On Wednesday, Okinawa confirmed its first positive coronavirus case in its population since April 30, a man in his 40s who had traveled to Japan’s main islands.

The Okinawa Times reported that the island confirmed another off-base case Thursday. A woman in her 20s from Tokyo tested positive while traveling on Okinawa.

The prefectural government reported two cases Wednesday, each contracting the virus outside of Okinawa, the newspaper reported.

About the writers: Stars and Stripes reporters Hana Kusumoto and Seth Robson contributed to this report.

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2nd Boot Camp Report (see below)

Title: Hundreds of Marine Recruits Have Now Tested Positive for COVID-19 at Boot Camp
Re: https://www.military.com/daily-news/...boot-camp.html

The Marine Corps has seen hundreds of new recruits at boot camp test positive for the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, but their symptoms have been so mild that it hasn't disrupted training, a two-star general said this week.

Fewer than 2% of the Marine recruits who've reported to boot camp since the start of the pandemic have tested positive for COVID-19, Maj. Gen. Bill Mullen, head of Training and Education Command, said Tuesday.

"We've had at best less than 500 cases," he told reporters this week. "And of those cases, the majority had no symptoms whatsoever."

The military has clamped down on reporting the number of COVID-19 cases within specific commands, citing operational security concerns. Mullen and Navy Rear Adm. Milton Sands, the head of Naval Service Training Command, declined to provide the total number of recruits who've tested positive at the services' training camps in California, South Carolina and Illinois.

Both said, though, that the Navy and Marine Corps have successfully implemented guidelines to keep the pandemic from slowing training.

"We conduct risk assessments every single day to try and really make sure our No. 1 priority is maintaining a safe training environment for our recruits," Sands said.

Recruits reporting to Marine Corps and Navy boot camp now face a 14-day quarantine before they start training. The sea services also cut the number of recruits back to allow for better social distancing in often-crowded spots at boot camp, such as in squad bays and chow halls.

Trainees also wear face coverings at boot camp, as part of the new rules put in place after the Navy and Marine Corps temporarily halted incoming shipments of new recruits earlier this year.

That was after Marine recruiters in New York, which was seeing the country's worst outbreak of COVID-19 cases earlier this year, expressed alarm over the service's decision to continue shipping men and women from coronavirus hot spots off to boot camp.

Mullen said most of the recruits who've tested positive for COVID-19 at Marine Corps boot camp have shown no symptoms. They were often identified through contact with another recruit who did show coronavirus symptoms, he said.

"Of those who were sick, none whatsoever were hospitalized," Mullen said. "So though we have had people obviously get it, it has mostly been a non-event for us."

Mullen and Sands said both the Marine Corps and Navy continue eyeing states with large coronavirus outbreaks to determine whether they should halt new shipments of recruits from those areas. But Sands said the new protections they've put in place at boot camp lower any risk of training outbreaks, even if recruits are coming from hot spots, since new trainees must shelter in place before starting training.

"That probably more than anything has really helped us maintain a steady flow [of recruits] despite different fluctuations and levels of the disease in different states," Sands said.

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Personal note: I mentioned this several months ago - that when I was in boot camp we had a guy die from spinal meningitis he came from California. In fact he was in the same barracks I was in - he also had the bunk next to mine - when reveille sounded we found him dead that morning. I forget if it was three weeks or six weeks we were all quarantined and monitored by medics daily. We couldn't leave the barracks go outside. All bedding was removed and clothing was burned and new clothing & bedding replaced. Food was brought in by folks in air covered in air-suits and tanks.
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Fortunately no one else got it. We also got blood test and shots while in isolation.
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Yes - it was scary you never knew if you would get it.

Boats
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Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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