Coronavirus cases in 2nd Navy ship on rise
The quantity of coronavirus cases aboard the USS Kidd has risen to 64 as the Navy destroyer pulled into port at NORTH PARK on Tuesday to get health care for the crew and disinfect and decontaminate the ship.
The Kidd may be the second Navy ship with an outbreak of the disease while at sea, the other being the USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier that is docked at Guam for a month. The Roosevelt has more than 900 sailors with confirmed cases of COVID-19, but the complete crew has been tested.
The Navy has moved swiftly to achieve the Kidd's crew ashore. That was a point of contention with the Roosevelt, whose skipper, Capt. Brett Crozier, felt compelled to create to many other commanders pleading for more urgent Navy action to safeguard his crew of almost 5,000. Crozier was then relieved of command for what the Navy's top civilian official at that time, Thomas Modly, called poor judgment. Modly resigned several days later, and the Navy is currently seeking higher-level approval to reverse his move and restore Crozier to command.
The Navy said that 63% of the Kidd's crew of more than 300 have been tested by Tuesday. One sailor was medically evacuated to america on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. Fifteen were transferred to another ship with a medical facility for closer observation of symptoms.
Sailors being removed from the Kidd at NORTH PARK will be isolated with twice-daily medical screenings. Crew members who've tested negative will enter quarantine for an interval of observation, with military medical researchers monitoring them for symptoms. Also, a little contingent of sailors who tested negative will stay on the ship for essential services and deep cleaning. The cleaning is likely to take two weeks.
The destroyer have been off the Pacific coast of Central American doing counter-narcotics operations.
With the Roosevelt and Kidd both in port, the Navy said no deployed ships now have known coronavirus cases aboard. Thirteen ships that previously had a number of active cases while in port have zero cases now, the Navy said.
