24 Omicron strain cases within the prefecture, but 235 new Covid-19 cases among US Military in Okinawa, the highest 1 day total yet. (1ja22)

On 1 January, Okinawa Prefecture announced that 235 new cases of Covid-19 had been confirmed among the US Military in Okinawa (Commander of US Forces Japan, Lieutenant General Ricky N. Rupp).


According to the report the Prefecture received from the US Military, the number announced hit the highest yet for any one day.  The Military claimed that whether or not the infections of the 235 were associated with or a variant of the Omicron strain was undetermined.


On 17 December 2021, a huge cluster of the virus was confirmed within the prefecture at the US Marine base Camp Hansen in and around the town of Kin. At year end, the number of infections increased from 45 on 30 December to 98 on 31 December, bringing the total for December alone to 522. As to the cause of the increase, the US Military is said to have told the Prefecture, “We haven’t been able to analyse all the information.  We’re in the middle of our investigation.”

 

Governor Denny Tamakihas requested that the US Military confine people associated with the military to base, but Prefectural Authorities claim, “There have been scattered reports of people entering and leaving bases.” The Prefecture aims to confirm whether the measures are being thoroughly implemented.”


On the other hand, on 1 January, 52 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed within the prefecture. Moreover, 24 of them were new infections of the Omicron strain. That was the highest number of confirmed cases of the Omicron strain in one day in the prefecture yet and brought the total cases to 65.


The Prefecture intends to expand its “wide-spread infection warning” requesting “group meals limited to 2 hours with no more than 4 per table”, which up until now has applied to Okinawa Island’s northern districts only, to the entire prefecture.


Okinawa Prefecture continues to hold its place as the worst in the nation for its number of new infections per 100,000 people.


Original Japanese article: Asahi Shimbun Digital, published Saturday 1 January 2022 at 17:43. Byline: Mika Kuniyoshi

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/650340e7d9c3fb4f7c5479f641f17e903194099c


Translator’s note:

Denny in the News: news about Okinawan Governor Denny Tamaki.

Denny Tamaki is the governor of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Although Okinawa is important as an international tourist destination and a key element in strategic US Military Forces, its governor receives very little coverage in the Japanese press and almost none in the English language media. 

  1. This blog hopes to  translate one news article a day on the governor.  It is unsponsored and unauthorized. The translator simply hopes to improve his skills and perhaps give the governor an English speaking audience. 

  2. Any suggestion on improving the translation will be gratefully accepted. However, please leave political comments for another forum.

  3. Where they occur, words and phrases in Ryukyuan (the Okinawan language) are rendered in italics and translated in parentheses. Names  whose readings are uncertain are rendered as Name (=Kanji?) as in Nagayuki (=長行?). Any corrections in such instances would be gratefully appreciated.

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