France launches probe into Covid-19 outbreak on its only aircraft carrier as 20 sailors remain in hospital, 1 in intensive care

The French military has opened an investigation into a Covid-19 outbreak on board its sole aircraft carrier, ‘Charles de Gaulle,’ as 20 of its 668 infected crewmembers remain in hospital.

“As of today, the majority of sailors don’t show signs of concern. Twenty sailors have been hospitalized, and one of them is in an intensive care unit,” French Navy spokesperson Eric Lavault told reporters on Thursday.

The Defense Ministry has launched an investigation to determine how the disease spread onto the nation’s sole aircraft carrier.

Overall, 668 of the ship’s crew of 1,767 have tested positive for Covid-19. This number may grow as Lavault said that around 30 percent of the sailors have yet to be tested.

The suspected outbreak on the ‘Charles de Gaulle’ was first reported by the military last week after dozens of people on board began exhibiting symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. The nuclear-powered ship had to promptly cut short its Mediterranean mission aimed at fighting Islamist militants in the Middle East, and returned to the southern French port of Toulon two weeks early.

A similar outbreak had occurred on the US Navy aircraft carrier USS ‘Theodore Roosevelt,’ where nearly 600 sailors tested positive for Covid-19. The US Navy reported earlier this week that one of the infected crewmembers has died.

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