A soldier is tested for COVID-19, the respiratory caused by the coronavirus, at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Jan. 22, 2021. (Kacie Benak/U.S. Army)
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Fourteen U.S. Forces Korea personnel tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving from the United States between Feb. 3 and Monday, the command announced Thursday.
In Japan, the Air Force reported one new patient at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa. That person is also a new arrival to Japan, according to a Facebook post Wednesday evening by Kadena’s 18th Wing. An unspecified number of that person’s close contacts were identified and quarantined, the base said.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported another 340 newly infected people Thursday, the highest one-day count since Friday, according to public broadcaster NHK and metro government data. The total confirmed cases in Tokyo rose to 110,740, with 1,302 deaths from complications of COVID-19, the coronavirus respiratory disease.
Japan has reported nearly 428,000 cases and 7,584 deaths as of Thursday, according to the World Health Organization.
Seoul, capital of South Korea, had reported 396 new infections as of midnight Wednesday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. That nation has confirmed 81,526 cases during the pandemic, thus far, and 1,581 deaths.
Of the 14 new patients reported by USFK on Wednesday, five are service members who arrived at Osan Air Base on the Patriot Express, the government-chartered passenger air service, from the U.S. on Feb. 3, Saturday and Monday.
Another seven service members and two dependents arrived at Incheon International Airport on commercial flights on Feb. 5, 8–10, 12, 17, 18, Saturday and Sunday.
Nine of the new patients tested positive on the mandatory test for COVID-19 test prior to entering quarantine, and five tested positive on the mandatory test required to exit quarantine.
All 14 patients have been isolated at Camp Humphreys, Osan or Kunsan Air Base, according to USFK.
ditzler.joseph@stripes.com Twitter: @JosephDitzler
