Subscribe
Employees of the beauty salon on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, prepare for its upcoming reopening, Sept. 2, 2020. The base is reopening many of the quality of life facilities during the third phase of a unified reopening plan.

Employees of the beauty salon on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, prepare for its upcoming reopening, Sept. 2, 2020. The base is reopening many of the quality of life facilities during the third phase of a unified reopening plan. (Natalia Murillo/U.S. Navy)

Stars and Stripes is making stories on the coronavirus pandemic available free of charge. See other free reports here. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here. Please support our journalism with a subscription.

The U.S. military has reopened the beauty salon, bar, the main recreation center and other “quality of life” facilities at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, nearly six months after they were closed amid concerns about a rise in coronavirus cases in the east African country.

Camp residents were able to again visit the base’s beauty salon as of Friday for all hair and nail services, officials said. The maximum capacity at the salon, which is open seven days a week, is three customers and face coverings are required. Waxing and massage services, however, remain unavailable.

Other locations that have reopened include the main recreation center; 11 Degrees North, the base bar; the swimming pool and various eateries.

“Camp leadership recognizes the quality of life needs for base residents, however stress that it cannot surpass the importance of health and safety amid a pandemic,” base officials said in a statement.

Access to many social locations and eateries on Camp Lemonnier had been restricted since March 22 as the number of cases of the coronavirus began to rise in Djibouti and 11 days after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic. At the time, some 1,200 local nationals who work at the facility were blocked entry as part of an effort to control the virus’ spread.

There have been 5,388 confirmed cases of the virus and 61 deaths in Djibouti since the start of the outbreak, according to the WHO. The number of new infections in the country has declined sharply since the outbreak peaked there in late May.

The military has not reported any cases among service members in Djibouti but said a small number of contractors have been affected.

news@stripes.com

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now