Navy struggling to slow outbreak on USNS Mercy as 7 sailors test positive
https://www.navytimes.com/2020/04/14/navy-struggling-to-slow-outbreak-on-usns-mercy-as-7-sailors-test-positive/
Navy struggling to slow outbreak on USNS Mercy as 7 sailors test positive
J.D. Simkins
14 hours ago
A total of seven sailors aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy have contracted COVID-19 and been removed from the ship as the remaining crew scrambles to stifle a full-blown outbreak.
Navy officials would not specify where the sailors have been moved, but confirmed the crew members in close proximity to the infected sailors have since tested negative.
Treatment of patients onboard Mercy, which arrived in Los Angeles on March 27, will continue as planned, officials said.
The surge in confirmed cases, meanwhile, has increased concern among sailors and family members who were already skeptical about the crews screening process prior to embarking on Mercy or Comfort, the second of the Navys two mobilized hospital ships which is currently treating patients in the New York City harbor.
Navy officials previously confirmed the screening process, one instituted in accordance to CDC guidance, consists only of a temperature check and a series of questions addressing [the] members recent health and contact history.
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