Okinawa imposes state of emergency as coronavirus cases spike

republicworld.com -- Aug 02

Japan’s Okinawa island region has declared a state of emergency from August 1 to August 15, because of increasing COVID 19 cases.

Because of increasing COVID 19 cases in the island region of Okinawa Japan, the administration has imposed a state of emergency to curb the virus. The region has declared a state of emergency from August 1 to August 15. People in the popular tourist destination were asked to stay inside their homes to curb the contagious virus. Okinawa witnessed 71 new cases of coronavirus on 31 July, this increase has brought the total number of infected people to 395 in the region. The majority of the infected persons in total cases are from US forces which accounts for 248. There are around 20,000 US Marines in Okinawa.

According to media reports Governor of Okinawa Prefecture Denny Tamaki has asked residents to avoid non-essential outings. He also requested that eateries in the city of Naha limit opening hours between 5 am and 10 pm local time. The measures, however, are not mandatory. While talking to media persons Okinawa Governor informed about declaring a state of emergency “We're seeing an explosive spread of infections. We declare a state of emergency”, Governor reportedly said.

Last month Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki flew to Tokyo to call on the US ambassador and representatives of the Japanese government to halt the transfer of any more US military personnel to the prefecture amid a significant outbreak of the coronavirus in US bases.

Later authorities of Okinawa have demanded an explanation from the US military over new clusters found at the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and Camp Hansen and Okinawa Governor Tamaki has urged US officials to step up preventive measures to help curb further spread of the disease.

Aug 02 (ANNnewsCH) - 沖縄では新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大を受けて、2日から首里城公園内の建物など、観光施設の一部が休館となっています。  沖縄では1日、新型コロナウイルスの感染者が58人確認され、1日までの1週間で267人と急増しています。感染の拡大を受けて玉城知事は先月31日、沖縄県独自の緊急事態宣言を発表しました。期間は今月1日から15日までで、2日から首里城公園内の建物や美ら海水族館など観光施設の一部が休館となっています。また、アメリカ軍基地でも1日までに253人の感染者が確認されていて、不安が広がっています。