A third of French aircraft carrier crew have coronavirus, gov’t says

A THIRD of the nearly 2,000 sailors who were aboard France’s flagship aircraft carrier and support craft when a coronavirus outbreak occurred at sea have tested positive for the virus, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.

With t wo-t hirds of test results in, 668 sa i lor s f rom t he Cha rles de Gaulle and escort vessels in its battle group are confirmed to have the v ir us, it said.

Thirty-one were being treated in hospital, and one was in intensive care, a ministry statement said.

Last week, it was decided to bring the Charles de Gaulle home 10 days ea rly f rom a deploy ment i n t he Atlantic after some crew members showed coronav irus symptoms.

The carrier which had helicopters a nd f ig hter jet s on boa rd, was accompanied by t wo frigates – one for aeria l defence and t he ot her an anti-submarine vessel.

Sailors from the Charles de Gaulle, one of the frigates and the pilots who returned the aircraft to their respective bases, are all placed in isolation for 14 days, the ministry said.

There had been no virus outbreak on the other frigate.

So far, 1,767 sailors from the battle group have been tested for the virus, the vast majority from the aircraft carrier itself, said the ministry statement.

Some 30 per cent of results are still outsta nding, meaning more t ha n half of those tested so far have come back positive.

The Charles de Gaulle, which can t ra nsport about 2,000 sa i lors, had been deployed in the Atlantic as part of a NATO exercise after ta k ing part in Operation Chammal that seeks to contain t he Islamic State group in Iraq and Sy ria.

The vessels in the battle group are being disinfected, the ministry said.