Yokota continues to refine the ROM process to mitigate any potential exposure. Now, more than ever, sponsors are encouraged to find new and creative ways to continue to support their inbound personnel and be fully involved throughout their arrival.
However, sponsors will no longer be authorized to pick up personnel directly from the terminal in order to reduce the risk of possible COVID-19 exposure. Instead, inbound personnel will be taken via shuttle to Bldg. 400, which will be the ROM reception area and will service personnel until their lodging or residence is ready. The ROM reception area amenities will include wi-fi, pet relief area, seating, and a DSN phone for use. Food may be delivered via delivery options or sponsor drop-off.
Sponsors will ensure lodging or housing is reserved and coordinated. In addition, they will ensure that Pet Care Center or pet friendly lodging reservations are made when necessary. When applicable, keys need to be dropped off at Bldg. 400, Room 107 between 0800 and 1000 Monday through Friday at least one day prior to the newcomer’s arrival.
Members flying into commercial airports with pets will need to reserve pet transportation 3 weeks in advance through FSS.
Your health and well-being continues to be our top priority.
Updated: 15 June 2021
Yokota All,
No member of the Yokota community tested positive for COVID-19 12-15 June. Currently, there are no active cases at Yokota Air Base.
If you are experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or sudden loss of taste and smell), DO NOT go to work or expose others. Call the medical appointment line at DSN: 225-8864 Opt. 7 or Cell: 042-552-2510 Ext. 58864 Opt. 7 for evaluation and instructions. For questions about ROM, please utilize your chain of command.
Health Protection Condition (HPCON) Bravo (Moderate Threat): The Health Protection Condition for the installation is Bravo and is characterized as a moderate threat and/or a real risk of exposure to personnel due to a significant outbreak of disease in the local area.
More information is available in DOD Instruction 6200.03, Public Health Emergency Management within the DoD.
Continued transmission of COVID-19 cases in Japan present a risk to our population. Accordingly, pursuant to DoD Instruction (DoDI) 6200.03, “Public Health Emergency Management (PHEM) Within the DoD,” dated 28 March 2019, and Air Force Instruction 10-2519, Public Health Emergencies and Incidents of Public Health Concern, dated 10 December 2019, I have declared a Public Health Emergency under my authority as the installation commander. The following measures are mandatory for all personnel present on or assigned to Yokota Air Base including but not limited to U.S. military members, U.S. civilian employees, all dependents, DoD retirees, Host-Nation (HN) employees, contractors, and any other persons accessing this installation. This order also includes those personnel assigned to mission partners/tenant units. These measures will go into effect immediately and remain in effect until Saturday 24 July 2021 unless renewed and republished or sooner terminated by me or my successor. I will review this policy at least every 15 days to determine if these measures need to stay in place or be changed in any manner.
All gates will remain operational with the procedures and hours stated below.
Gate Procedures: When arriving at the gate, please be sure to:
1. Have a face mask on
2. Have your window rolled down
3. Hold up your ID card to be scanned
4. Flip your ID to allow the Security Forces member to verify the picture
Gate Hours of Operation:
-Terminal and West Gate: 24/7 for pedestrians and vehicles; Everyday
-Fussa Gate: Vehicles 0600-2200; Pedestrians 0600-0100; Everyday
-Supply Gate: Vehicles 0600-1800; Pedestrians 0600-2200; Monday-Friday
-East Gate: Vehicles 0500-0100; Pedestrians 0500-0100; Everyday
Please also note that all screening questions have ceased and personnel, SOFA or JASDF, may use any gate.
DoDEA Schools: Please direct questions to DoDEA Pacific and visit www.dodea.edu/Pacific for more information.
School Age Care: Open to currently enrolled Single/Dual military.
Child Development Center: Open to currently enrolled members. Reduced hours: 0730 – 1630.
Youth and Teen Center: Closed.
Chapel: The base chapel has resumed in-person worship services with COVID-19 prevention measures in place. Online alternative formats remain available. Follow “Yokota AB Chapel” on Facebook for more information and updates on services and other Chapel program events. For counseling appointments call 225-7009.
Legal Office/Tax Center: Clients seen by appointment only. Call 225-8069 for legal assistance or 225-4926 for the tax center.
Housing Management Office: Clients seen by appointment only. Please coordinate with housing counselors by phone at 225-3252, or email at 374ceshousing@us.af.mil. FSS Activities: Please monitor the Yokota FSS website for event updates at https://yokotafss.com.
Before you schedule your appointment for a new CAC or Uniformed Service ID Card, visit https://www.cac.mil/Coronavirus to see the changes implemented by the DOD concerning CAC/USID cards during COVID-19.
DoD Civilians and Japanese National Employees must adhere to “sick leave” policies. Work with supervisors for “administrative leave” and alternate schedules/telework due to COVID-19 related Japanese School Closures, etc.
If you are experiencing possible COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or sudden loss of taste and smell), DO NOT go to work or expose others. Call the medical appointment line at DSN:
225-8864 Opt. 7 or Cell: 042-552-2510 Ext. 58864 Opt. 7 for evaluation and instructions. For questions about ROM, please utilize your chain of command.
To protect our personnel and families from the continued transmission of COVID-19, I have established a local area within Japan. The local area is currently defined as the country of Japan however SOFA status personnel should be aware there are several restrictions currently in place in the prefectures of Tokyo, Aichi, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Hokkaido, Okayama, Hiroshima, and Okinawa due to a Government of Japan State of Emergency declared until 20 June 2021. SOFA status personnel may still enter these areas but are expected to comply with COVID mitigation measures created by the Government of Japan in these prefectures. Many businesses in these prefectures may be closed; other essential services may still be open but with shortened hours. Members who currently live in one of these named prefectures may continue to travel to and from their residence for purposes of going to work or for any other purpose currently approved in this policy. Members are also authorized to visit other military installations within the local area; however visiting installations that are currently in HPCON Charlie status requires prior approval from the first O-6 in the member’s chain of command. All DoD uniformed members must remain in the above defined local area while on duty, on leave, on liberty, or on pass unless on mission-essential travel or in a formally approved leave status pursuant to the requirements in the Mission-essential Travel section and Leave section. SOFA status members of the civilian component and SOFA dependents are highly encouraged to remain within the defined local area and any departure from that local area will subject them to Restriction of Movement policies upon return.
Prohibited non-essential services and activities within any prefecture in Japan include bars, night clubs, karaoke clubs, social clubs, or any facility with a potential for crowds, close contact, or closed spaces where COVID prevention measures cannot be maintained. While at another U.S. installation in Japan, Yokota members are expected to comply with that installation’s COVID policies. While engaging in non-essential services and activities on and off-base members must wear masks unless an exception below applies.
Mission-essential travel outside the local area is authorized during the period of this order. Mission-essential travel includes but is not limited to medical appointments, official duty at another military installation, and permissive TDY for house-hunting. If there are questions on what qualifies as mission essential travel, please consult your chain of command. Government funded TDY travel for 374th Airlift Wing personnel will be approved by the first O-6 in the traveler’s chain of command. All TDY travel will require this approval unless the purpose for travel is one of the 12 exemptions listed on the Secretary of Defense’s 15 March 2021 policy titled “Update to Conditions-based Approach to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Personnel Movement and Travel Restrictions.”
a. Public transportation may be used within Japan under the following conditions. Air travel conducted entirely within the country of Japan is permitted. There is no restriction on accessing airports within Japan. Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) travel throughout Japan is permitted. Travel by taxi is still allowed. While on any form of public transportation members must wear a face mask at all times with the exception of eating a meal on an airplane or Shinkansen.
b. Use of local trains and buses is permitted at all times. Members must be cautious of overly crowded trains during rush hour and to the extent possible plan their trip accordingly. If members notice a train is overly crowded they are recommended to wait for another train. While on any local train or bus members must wear a face mask at all times.
Leave to a personal residence or in the local area may be approved by a first line supervisor. Non-mission essential travel within the prefectures of Aichi, Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Hokkaido, Okayama, Hiroshima, or Okinawa is currently limited to approval by a squadron commander or equivalent after an appropriate risk assessment until 20 June 2021. Leave for military or civilian employees outside of Japan may be approved by their squadron commander or equivalent. Approval authorities are required to conduct a risk assessment of the travel with the member and verify the HPCON status of a leave location before approving a leave request. In conducting risk assessments approval authorities will consider whether the individual is at increased risk of severe illness of COVID-19, the status of community spread of COVID-19 at the travel destination, if the traveler(s) have completed a COVID-19 immunization series plus 14 days, if the traveler(s) has exhibited any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 within the previous 14 days, and if the traveler(s) is/are familiar with how to self-monitor and what actions to take if they develop symptoms of COVID-19. If approval authorities have any questions on risk assessments they should speak to a public health professional. Space Available flights are currently only approved with an Exception to Policy request signed by the first O-6 or civilian equivalent in the chain of command as delegated by the Secretary of the Air Force.
Space available (Space-A) travel is limited to ‘category one’ (Emergency Travel). For more information, please contact the passenger terminal.
Unvaccinated individuals will continuously wear masks on Yokota Air Base, Tama Hills Recreation Area, or off base in Japan. Being “unvaccinated” is defined as not being 14 days after either the second dose of a two dose vaccine series or 14 days after a single dose vaccine. This mask wear requirement does not include inside a member’s personal residence or while in private lodging in the defined local area. However, unvaccinated members in outdoor shared spaces will wear a mask unless one of the exceptions to mask wear mentioned below apply:
Fully-vaccinated individuals will apply the following rules when it comes to mask wear. Being “fully-vaccinated” is defined as being 14 days after either the second dose of a two dose vaccine series or 14 days after a single dose vaccine. All fully-vaccinated individuals on Yokota Air Base or Tama Hills Recreation Area are no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors on the installation with the following exceptions:
Any member declining to wear a mask in compliance with this policy and not under one of the exceptions mentioned above may be temporarily denied access to the installation, debarred, or subject to other appropriate action.
Children 36 months old and younger are generally not required to wear a face mask on or off-base. Children in Child Development Center programs are also not required to wear a face mask while in the CDC. Multiple individuals riding in the same vehicle are required to wear face masks; however, this does not apply to riding in a vehicle with only immediate family members.
All indoor social gatherings are currently limited to 10 persons or 3 families in attendance. All outdoor social gatherings are currently limited to 25 persons. Exceptions to these rules may be approved by Squadron Commanders (or equivalent for mission partners/joint service personnel). Social gatherings are defined as groups of people who are together outside of the work area for non-mission essential purposes. When dining in restaurants or conducting other social activities not prohibited in paragraph Local Area Limitations, personnel should ensure they are maintaining social distancing and wearing cloth masks even when in groups of less than the maximum number of people listed above unless they are only with immediate family members. Vaccinated personnel conducting social gatherings on base should also refer to the Mask Wear section on mask wear guidance. An exception to this limited social gathering rule is allowed for attendance at off-installation religious services so long as attendance can be conducted in a safe manner and masks are worn. Personnel who find themselves in an area with a potential for crowds, close contact, or closed spaces where COVID prevention measures cannot be maintained, should immediately remove themselves from that location.
a. All personnel possessing a DoD ID card or other appropriate access card to Yokota Air Base can continue to access the installation. Contractors must be on an Entry Access List or be escorted by an authorized sponsor solely to fulfill their contractual obligations. Contractors are only authorized to visit their designated place of performance.
b. Adult DoD ID card holders can sponsor up to 5 guests per adult DoD ID card holder as a personal visitor on Yokota Air Base. Adult DOD ID card holders are defined as those card holders age 18 years or older. Adult DoD ID card holders can sponsor up to 8 guests for visiting Tama Hills Recreation Area by signing in at the security station on Tama Hills.
c. In order to sponsor a guest onto Yokota Air Base, the adult DoD ID card holder must go to the Visitor Control Center between the hours of 0600 and 2200, seven days a week to obtain a pass. DoD ID card holders will be able to attain a 24 hour pass for their sponsored guest and must be with their guest at all times while on Yokota Air Base. Official visitors are exempt from these limitations if they are escorted by U.S. or Japanese military personnel and/or U.S. civilian employees to meet with personnel for official duties. Exceptions to this policy for personal visitors will be routed to the first General Officer/SES in the chain of command for tenant organizations that have a General Officer/SES on base. For all other units, I will be the approval authority. An exception to policy form was previously distributed.
Members are encouraged to engage in physical fitness activities where social distancing and cleaning of equipment can be maintained. However, there still remains a risk in group physical fitness activities involving unvaccinated personnel where masks are not worn, social distancing cannot be maintained, or equipment is shared between multiple individuals. Accordingly, all unvaccinated personnel will wear a face mask at all times while in base fitness facilities including while engaging in physical exercise. The only exception to wearing a mask in base fitness facilities for unvaccinated personnel will be for members actively engaging in cardiovascular exercise on a cardio machine, when momentarily removed to hydrate, or while members are in the sauna/steam room or showers. Unvaccinated members conducting outdoor fitness activities on or off-base may briefly remove masks provided they maintain 6 feet of distance from non-family members. Vaccinated personnel conducting fitness activities on base should also refer to the Mask Wear section on mask wear guidance.
Moreover, the following group fitness activities without participation limits are permitted where masks are worn or social distancing is maintained: volleyball, baseball, softball, tennis, and gymnastics. All equipment should be thoroughly cleaned after use. Modified practice of group fitness activities not mentioned above (i.e. individual skill drills, conditioning, forms practice, shooting practice, etc.) may take place where strict social distancing is maintained or masks are worn and when there is no sharing of equipment or thorough cleaning of equipment is maintained and in accordance with the Mask Wear section.
All group fitness activities not mentioned above may be conducted on or off-base so long as participants comply with the following directives. Indoor group fitness activities must be limited to 10 participants unless it is a FSS approved activity such as intramural sports, adult fitness classes, or youth sports/fitness activity. Outdoor group fitness activities must be limited to 25 participants unless it is a FSS approved activity such as intramural sports, adult fitness classes, or youth sports/fitness activity. All participants in group fitness activities must wear a mask covering their nose and mouth while involved in the activity and within six feet of other participants or while sharing sports equipment. Vaccinated personnel conducting group fitness activities on base should also refer to the Mask Wear section on mask wear guidance. No travel sports are currently permitted, with the exception listed in the Mask Wear Section, meaning that teams cannot travel off-base for competitive events or practice and Yokota Air Base groups cannot invite teams from off-base onto the installation. All equipment should be thoroughly cleaned after use in a permitted activity. These directives will be continually evaluated and adjusted as required.
Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools are permitted to engage in travel sports activities with other DoDEA participating schools so long as: (1) the competitive event or practice is held on Yokota Air Base or another DoD installation; (2) the competing DoDEA school has agreed to participate in the event and the host DoD installation has agreed for it to take place there; (3) all participants comply with the approved DoDEA COVID mitigation plan for that sporting activity; and (4) no overnight travel is required for the competitive event or practice.
Squadron Commanders (or equivalent for mission partners/joint service personnel) may approve unit indoor or outdoor Physical Training events beyond the 10 and 25 participant limit, respectively. All unvaccinated participants in unit Physical Training events must wear a mask covering their nose and mouth when within a base fitness facility, within six feet of other participants, or while sharing sports equipment. Vaccinated personnel conducting group fitness activities on base should also refer to the Mask Wear section on mask wear guidance. All equipment used during unit Physical Training events must be sanitized after use.
We will continue to monitor the situation with regard to COVID-19 and provide updates as we receive them. If you or someone you know may be exhibiting these symptoms please contact the Medical Group appointment line at DSN 225-8864 Opt. 7. For updates on the coronavirus, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html or https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public.
If you are experiencing mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or sudden loss of taste and smell), DO NOT go to Urgent Care. Call the medical appointment line at DSN: 225-8864 Opt. 7 or Cell: 042-552-2510 Ext. 58864 Opt. 7. This COVID hotline is only intended for medical triage. Your call will be answered as soon as possible but delays may occur during periods of high volume. For questions about ROM please utilize your chain of command.
Your Supervisor & Chain of Command for questions on policy.
Medical Group Appointment Line for medical triage only: DSN: 225‐8864 Opt. 7 or Cell: 042‐552‐2510 Ext. 58864 Opt. 7.
Yokota Air Base Facebook @YokotaAirBase: https://www.facebook.com/yokotaairbase
Yokota Air Base Website: https://www.yokota.af.mil/COVID-19/
Yokota Connect App
Commander’s Access Line (374AW.PA.CommandersAction@us.af.mil)
Vaccinated SOFA-status personnel: All DoD uniformed personnel, members of the civilian component, and individuals with SOFA-status arriving in Japan from another country that are fully vaccinated (14 days after a 2 dose series or single dose vaccine), to include individuals on Temporary Duty, shall travel directly to their domicile and will, at a minimum, be restricted to a U.S. installation(s) for 14 days. On or after day 8, vaccinated individuals will be required to take a viral test (Antigen or PCR). After day 14, the individuals that have a negative viral test may have the restriction to an U.S. installation removed.
Unvaccinated SOFA-status personnel: All DoD uniformed personnel, members of the civilian component, and individuals with SOFA-status arriving in Japan from another country that are not fully vaccinated shall travel directly to their domicile and remain there for a ROM period of 10 days. This will be followed by a 4 day period (days 11 through 14) of restriction to their associated U.S. installation for a total of 14 days of ROM.
**Please see the ROM policy memo for further applicable procedures and conditions.**
COVID TRAVEL GUIDE
FAQ
How to get a COVID test
How to get COVID test results
COVID High Risk personnel
Yokota Medical Clinic DSN: 225-8864 Comm: 042-552-2510