Base-worker labor union demands U.S. military strengthen quarantine measures as the omicron-variant spreads amongst base workers

Base-worker labor union demands U.S. military strengthen quarantine measures as the omicron-variant spreads amongst base workers

All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union Okinawa Office executive committee chairman Eizo Yonaha speaking at a press conference after suggesting the Okinawa Defense Bureau enact emergency measures – December 20, at the Okinawa Defense Bureau in Kadena


December 21, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Ryota Shimabukuro

 

Central Okinawa – A large cluster of COVID-19 infections has been spreading through the U.S. military base Camp Hansen, and some of the workers on the base are the first confirmed cases of the “omicron” variant of the disease in Okinawa, leading the All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union (AJGFLU) Okinawa Office to suggest that the Okinawa Defense Bureau (ODB) enact emergency measures. If a U.S. military personnel arrive in Okinawa from other parts of Japan or from abroad, the AJGFLU Okinawa is requesting that they strengthen quarantine requirements even if that person is vaccinated, as well as implement disease transmission prevention measures such as wearing a mask while on base.

According to AJGFLU Okinawa Office executive committee chairman Eizo Yonaha in a press conference after delivering the written request, starting around November personnel have been exempted from wearing a mask while on base as long as they have had at least two doses of the vaccine. The AJGFLU has asked the Japanese government and the U.S. military command in Japan to reconsider this, calling the policy “premature.”

ODB Labor Director Akira Sugahara, who accepted the written request, explained that this the discovery of the new cluster, the U.S. military has raised their alert level, and is making wearing a mask mandatory again.

Commenting on the stipulation in the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which states that U.S. military personnel are not subject to Japanese quarantine rules, Yonaha said, “[Personnel] are entering Okinawa without observing the Japanese quarantine period, and as a result are spreading the disease in the workplace. The Japanese government needs to fully understand this and make necessary changes.”

According to the ALGFLU, there are around 1,000 suspected close contacts from the current cluster including military personnel, their families, and base workers, and that close contacts are being ordered to stay in their residences. The ALGFLU is also asking that with Christmas approaching, that the U.S. military not hold any Christmas parties.

(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)

 

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