Officials: Nearly 25% of Navy warship crew has COVID-19
By LOLITA C. BALDOR an hour ago
An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the Black Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22 conducts flight operations during an underway with the USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) on June 27, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship remains in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, with about two dozen sailors, or nearly a quarter of its crew, testing positive for COVID-19, according to U.S. defense officials.(Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anderson W. Branch/U.S. Navy via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — About two dozen sailors on a U.S. Navy warship — or roughly 25% of the crew — have now tested positive for COVID-19, keeping the ship sidelined in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba Monday, according to U.S. defense officials.
The USS Milwaukee has a crew of a bit more than 100, and it was forced to pause its deployment late last week because of the coronavirus outbreak. The defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the outbreak, said the number of infected sailors is staying relatively constant at this point.
The USS Milwaukee, a smaller, stealthier combat ship, is the first Navy ship this year to have to interrupt its deployment at sea.
It began its deployment from Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida, on Dec. 14, and had stopped for a scheduled port visit. The ship was heading into the U.S. Southern Command region.
Another warship, meanwhile, had to postpone its movement out to sea earlier this month due to a separate outbreak. Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson, spokesman for 3rd Fleet, said the USS Halsey, a destroyer, delayed its homeport move from Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, to San Diego because a significant number of the crew became infected with COVID-19. The ship was finally able to leave Hawaii on Sunday. The move is not a deployment, but a transfer to a new home station for the crew.
