US Navy combat ship remains in South American port due to COVID-19 outbreak among sailors

US Navy combat ship, the USS Milwaukee has stopped in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in South America due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the personnel, as the Navy announced. The Navy issued a statement on Friday saying that the USS Milwaukee, which is a Freedom version littoral combat ship, remains in port while certain Sailors test positive for COVID-19. It did not disclose the number of sailors who were infected with COVID-19 but has stated that all crew members were fully vaccinated.

It was also announced that those who have contacted COVID are not facing severe symptoms and at this time it is also unknown which variant they may have contracted. Sailors are isolated onboard and away from crew members. The ship is implementing an aggressive mitigation strategy in compliance with Navy and CDC protocols. The USS Milwaukee was deployed on 14th December from Jacksonville, Florida in the mission of the Joint Interagency Task Force South in combating drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The announcement comes after Omicron has emerged in the US

The announcement of the infected sailors comes as the new variant of COVID-19, Omicron has emerged in the US, accounting for more than 70% of new cases. In early 2020, an outbreak on the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt resulted in widespread infection of the crew and the death of a sailor, marking the first major outbreak in the Navy. However, in the immediate aftermath of the Roosevelt event, the Navy was mostly successful in limiting infections at sea by launching an intensive vaccination campaign for deployed ships. According to USNI News, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 17 sailors thus far.

The Pentagon mandated that all service members in the Navy obtain the coronavirus vaccine in August. The Navy's Wednesday coronavirus statistics update reveals that more than 98% of active-duty sailors had been vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes. It is the first documented ship infection since the Navy's vaccine deadline passed on November 28.

5,361 active-duty sailors had not been vaccinated

As of Wednesday, approximately 5,361 active-duty sailors had not been vaccinated, according to Stars and Stripes. The data provided by the Navy says that the sailors who are unvaccinated include those who either declined the vaccinations, began but did not finish the vaccine series or have no access to the vaccination owing to operating schedule or distant location.

Image: AP