Tokyo, 29 January, /AJMEDIA/
U.S. Forces Japan will lift COVID-19 restrictions on its personnel’s activities outside bases in Japan at the end of this month as scheduled, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The restrictive measures such as limiting the movement of U.S. military personnel outside military facilities to essential activities, a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and obligation of wearing a mask even on bases will end on Monday, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The measures were introduced on Jan. 10 following a surge in coronavirus cases among U.S. military personnel in prefectures such as Okinawa and Yamaguchi that host U.S. military bases, on the back of the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The spike in new infections among American personnel followed COVID-19 case clusters last month at some U.S. military facilities.
The restrictions were extended for a week beyond the original end date this past Monday.
