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Misawa Air Base is home of the 35th Fighter Wing in northeastern Japan.

Misawa Air Base is home of the 35th Fighter Wing in northeastern Japan. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)

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TOKYO – Two people who arrived June 15 at a U.S. air base in northern Japan have tested positive for the coronavirus, the military announced Saturday.

Both individuals, who landed at Misawa Air Base on a U.S. government-chartered flight, have been restricted to their quarters on the installation since their arrival, the base said on its Facebook page.

The message did not reveal whether they are active-duty service members.

“The members have since been moved to Misawa’s isolation facility designated for confirmed COVID-19 cases,” the post said. COVID-19 is the name of the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Close-contact tracing has been completed, according to the message. Those who sat near the infected individuals on the flight all tested negative.

Public health officials “will administer another test for all members from the flight prior to being released from isolation or quarantine,” it said.

The announcement comes less than a week after all Misawa personnel were ordered to shelter in place after members of a visiting aircrew were confirmed to have the coronavirus.

The infected “transient” members arrived at Misawa on June 15 and were all asymptomatic at that time, Col. Kristopher Struve, commander of the base’s 35th Fighter Wing, said in a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday.

news@stripes.com Twitter: @starsandstripes

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