The French military has ordered an inquiry into how a third of the crew on its navy’s flagship, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, contracted the coronavirus, reports The Guardian.
The nuclear-powered vessel had reportedly had no contact with the outside world since it went to sea on March 15th.
Last Friday, the French defence ministry confirmed 50 sailors had Covid-19 and the ship, which was in the Atlantic at the time, was ordered back to base in Toulon on France’s Mediterranean coast. It arrived on Sunday, two weeks earlier than planned.
Since then 668 sailors – one third of the 1,767-strong crew – have tested positive, the French defence ministry confirmed. “Today, 31 of them are in hospital, one in intensive care. We do not have the results for 30% of the tests,” it said in a statement.
The crew members have been placed in isolation for 14 days before being allowed to rejoin their families.
“Operations to disinfect the vessel and aircraft have begun,” said the French defence minister, Florence Parly, who added a message of support for the confined sailors and their families.
The Charles de Gaulle was docked at Brest on France’s western coast between March 13th-15th, where the sailors were given shore leave. This was two days before the country’s strict confinement, as the lockdown is known in France.
Adm Christophe Prazuck, the navy’s chief of staff, has ordered an inquiry into the contamination of the vessel.