Seven members of the crew on the Navy hospital ship Mercy have tested positive for COVID-19.
Those crew members and people they came in close contact with, are either isolated or quarantined off the ship, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
“Seven Medical Treatment Facility crew members on board USNS Mercy have tested positive for COVID-19 and are currently isolated off the ship,” said Cmdr. John Fage, a spokesman for the 3rd Fleet. “The ship is following protocols and taking every precaution to ensure the health and safety of all crew members and patients on board.”
The newspaper said the ship is currently pier-side at the Port of Los Angeles. It sailed to Los Angeles in late March in an effort to alleviate the strain on the city’s hospital system caused by the high number of patients infected by the coronavirus, ABC News noted. It is one of the Navy’s two 1,000-bed hospital ships.
The Union-Tribune said the coronavirus outbreak on Mercy has not affected the ship's ability to receive patients. And it said all incoming patients are testing for the virus.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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