COVID-19 Cluster Infections Surge In Japan Likely Traceable To US Bases - Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayash

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COVID-19 Cluster Infections Surge in Japan Likely Traceable to US Bases - Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayash

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi did not rule out on Thursday that the emergence of the COVID-19 cluster infections at US military bases in Japan has become one of the factors causing the infections surge in nearby areas

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2022) Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi did not rule out on Thursday that the emergence of the COVID-19 cluster infections at US military bases in Japan has become one of the factors causing the infections surge in nearby areas.

"We cannot deny the possibility that the infection situation in the facilities of U.S. forces is one of the factors behind the spread of the virus in their surrounding areas," Hayashi told a press conference at the Japan National Press Club as quoted by the Japanese Kyodo news agency.

The three Japanese prefectures of Hiroshima, Yamaguchi and Okinawa saw a record number of cases of infection last Thursday, with the country confirming over 4,000 daily cases for the first time since mid-September.

The American military bases have been widely blamed for viral spillover after it was revealed that US personnel deployed to Japan had not been tested for COVID-19 since fall.

According to the Japanese health ministry, more than 8,000 cases of COVID-19 were detected in Japan last Saturday, with 1,700 of them in Okinawa. This is the highest rate for the prefecture during the entire pandemic. Since Sunday, prefectures of Okinawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima, where US military bases are located, have adopted a regime of enhanced measures to combat COVID-19.

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