First US Service Member In Japan Tests Positive For COVID-19 - Navy

An American sailor who returned from the United States to Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo became the first US service member in Japan to contract the new coronavirus (COVID-19), Navy Captain Michael Jarrett said in a video posted on Facebook Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th March, 2020) An American sailor who returned from the United States to Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo became the first US service member in Japan to contract the new coronavirus (COVID-19), Navy Captain Michael Jarrett said in a video posted on Facebook Thursday.

"Currently, the sailor is in isolation on the installation, and public health professionals have performed contact tracing to identify people who may have been exposed," Jarrett said. "Those individuals have been notified and screened.

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A profile of the patients symptoms indicated the sailor contracted the virus in the United States, Jarrett added.

The case marks the first time a service member in Japan has contracted the virus, according to Jarrett.

US Forces Japan first adopted a Restriction of Movement policy on March 11 to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a report in the Navy Times said.

Japan has just over 1,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.