Army Spc. Victoria Guerra wears a mask while shopping at the commissary on Camp Zama, Japan, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Another working week concluded with COVID-19 still in charge in Japan’s capital city.
Tokyo confirmed 19,798 new infections Friday, ending a two-day streak of 20,000-plus new cases per day, according to public broadcaster NHK and metropolitan government data.
The seven-day moving average stood at 17,058 on Thursday, the highest it’s been during the pandemic. And the percentage of positive tests among all individuals tested is also at its highest in Tokyo at 37%, NHK reported Friday.
The U.S. military in Japan reported 162 new cases at 16 installations across the country, with three people awaiting confirmation, according to a U.S. Forces Japan update Friday.
That’s 42 more new cases than USFJ reported on Thursday.
Kadena Air Base and the Marine Corps’ Camp Foster reported 25 new cases each and Yokosuka Naval Base reported 22, according to USFJ.
Yokosuka on Friday said 226 people tested positive for COVID-19 between Jan. 28 and Thursday, according to a post on its Facebook page. Of those, 158 became ill before testing positive, and another five were discovered during medical screenings.
The naval base said it has 396 active COVID-19 cases, but none are hospitalized. Another 508 people were cleared of the virus during the past week.
Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo on Friday said 42 people there tested positive between Tuesday and Thursday, according to a post on its Facebook page.
Thirty-two people associated with U.S. Army Japan have tested positive since Jan. 26, according to the command’s latest Facebook update Wednesday.
Kadena had 236 active cases Friday, according to its Facebook page.
Okinawa prefecture reported 709 new cases, keeping with a trend of between 600 and 900 new infections per day since Jan. 26, according to the prefectural Department of Public Health and Medical Care. It reported 80 new cases in the U.S. military community Friday.
Stars and Stripes reporter Mari Higa contributed to this report.
