US military needs to start respecting local COVID rules, people’s life and health: Spokesperson

CCTV: Japan has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent times. Denny Tamaki, Governor of Japan’s Okinawa prefecture, said the US military has spread the Omicron variant to the prefecture, and that he was outraged because the infections among the personnel in the US military camp have spilled over to the local civilian population. He also renewed the call that US military personnel should no longer be exempted from Japan’s quarantine rules. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: I noted relevant reports. This is not an isolated incident as clusters of cases in US military bases overseas have posed severe threats to local people’s life and health. Spread of infections has also been caused by US military personnel in the ROK and Germany. US soldiers stationed overseas have overridden laws of host countries, defied and disobeyed local anti-pandemic protocols, and ignored local people’s right to life and health and right to public health. They time and again have become COVID-19 “superspreaders” acro