The Navy reported more than a dozen COVID-19 cases among soldiers aboard a warship in the Middle East on Friday, in which several people may have been infected on another ship.
The military branch announced the coronavirus outbreak on board the amphibious transport dock USS San Diego in a press release, adding that it had also identified “several individuals under investigation” on the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea.
The Navy added that medical personnel are conducting contact tracing to determine the origin of the outbreak on the ships.
The USS San Diego is currently docked in Bahrain and the Navy explains that all “positive cases on board have been isolated and the ship remains in a limited COVID bubble”.
Meanwhile, the Navy said it would not disclose the location of the USS Philippine Sea “ for operational security, ” adding that it is “ expected to move into port to conduct further tests on all who may have been exposed and to provide rapid Provide testing facilities and medical treatment centers as needed ”
The Navy said people found to be in close contact with the infected service personnel aboard the ship have been isolated while following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Bahrain’s Ministry of Health.
“US 5th Fleet is committed to taking all possible measures to protect the health of our force,” the Navy added Friday. “While the health and wellbeing of our personnel is a priority, we remain ready to support the mission of the US Central Command and our regional and coalition partners.”
The new infections come just over a week after the Navy reported three COVID-19 cases among sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which became the center of a massive coronavirus outbreak last year.
Last year’s outbreak was the largest the military has seen since the start of the pandemic. More than 1,200 military personnel on board the ship tested positive for COVID-19, with all 4,800 crew members sent ashore to Guam to be quarantined for weeks.