| COVID-19 pandemic on boardCharles de Gaulle | |
|---|---|
_underway_on_24_April_2019_(190424-M-BP588-1005).jpg) Charles de Gaulle in April 2019 | |
| Disease | COVID-19 |
| Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
| Location | North Sea |
| Index case | Charles de Gaulle |
| Arrival date | 10 April 2020 (5 years, 10 months and 2 days) |
| Confirmed cases | 1,046[1][2] |
| Recovered | Unknown |
Deaths | 0 |
In April 2020, theCOVID-19 pandemic reached the French aircraft carrierCharles de Gaulle and the Aeronaval Group of theNaval Action Force, itscarrier battle group.
A mid-sized carrier,Charles de Gaulle is smaller than Americansupercarriers but larger than similar ships operated or retired by Russia, India, and Brazil.[3]Charles de Gaulle was constructed for theFrench Navy inBrest between 1989 and 1994,[4] with the ship's completion being severely delayed by budget cuts and mechanical problems.[5][6] It became fully operational in 2001 after completing tests at sea.[4] AfterCharles de Gaulle was commissioned, the French government quickly deployed it to support theWar in Afghanistan. The ship also saw active service in supporting NATO'smilitary intervention in Libya (2011) and theInternational military intervention against ISIL (2015) before undergoing a nearly two-year refit.[4]
In January 2020, the French government orderedCharles de Gaulle and its associatedcarrier battle group to deploy to the Eastern Mediterranean for further operations against ISIL, after which it would transit through theStrait of Gibraltar and engage in multinational training exercises in the Atlantic Ocean andNorth Sea.[7][8]
After several weeks in the eastern Mediterranean,Charles de Gaulle proceeded to the Atlantic and North Sea for naval exercises alongside her battle group, which consisted of the air-defensefrigateChevalier Paul, the anti-submarine frigateLa Motte-Picquet, the command and replenishment shipFrench tanker Somme, and a nuclear-powered submarine.[9] From 13 to 15 March,Charles de Gaulle was docked in Brest for a brief port visit. The enactment of a strict lockdown to combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic came two days after the ship left Brest, and the sailors were allowedshore leave that included seeing family members and visiting local commercial establishments.[7][10]Charles de Gaulle's crew did not have contact with the outside world for the next three weeks.[11] Belgium'sfrigateLeopold I, part of the carrier battle group, was ordered to prepare to leave the force on 24 March afterdetecting a single coronavirus case.[8][12] The nature of warships, which includes working with others in small enclosed areas and a lack of private quarters for the vast majority of crew, lent themselves to the rapid spread of the disease to a degree even greater than that seen oncruise ships.[13] Indeed, onCharles de Gaulle there were places where 20 people would sleep together on three or four floors ofberths.[14]
During this time, severalcommon colds were registered on board, but the level of sick sailors was not above the ordinary for the frigid −5 °C (23 °F) temperature and strong winds of the regionCharles de Gaulle was operating in.[7][15] Starting on 5 April, however, the number of crew members reporting to the infirmary began growing exponentially to alarming levels. Two sailors were medically scanned and found to be infected by the coronavirus, after which the French defense ministerFlorence Parly ordered the carrier to return to its home port of Toulon.[7][16][17] On 10 April, French news outlets reported that out of 66 tests conducted on board the aircraft carrier, 50 had returned positive.[18] Three sailors were evacuated by air toSaint Anne Army Teaching Hospital [fr].[18][19] There were 1,760 personnel on board.[17]
The carrier arrived in Toulon on the afternoon of 12 April, where the personnel began a 14-day quarantine.[11][20] The ship was to be decontaminated over the course of several weeks.[21]
At first, the origin of the outbreak was unknown; there had been no contact with the outside world after the ship's stopover in Brest.[11][20][a] The captain had given the crew orders to avoid an infection and a family day had been cancelled. However, the girlfriend of a sailor said in an interview onEaster Sunday that some sailors had eaten in the same restaurants as their wives or families. She also said that sailors of other nationalities had been there, too.[20] As of 18 April, Brest is considered the point of infection.[14]
On 15 April 2020, the Ministry of Armed Forces reported that, out of the 1,767 tests conducted on the members of the carrier battle group, 668 returned positive, with the vast majority of cases being aboardCharles de Gaulle.[22][b] The 1,700 sailors ofCharles de Gaulle were subsequently quarantined for two weeks.[22][23]
On 17 April, the numbers reported went up to more than 1,000 infected, from 2,000 tested, with 500 showing symptoms, 24 admitted to hospital and one of them to anintensive care unit (ICU).[24]
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On 18 April, it was reported that 1,081 out of 2,300 people on bothCharles de Gaulle andChevalier Paul, tested positive. Two investigations have been launched. One on the situation in Brest and one led by admiralChristophe Prazuck on the epidemic on board of the carrier strike group.[15]
Reports for 23 April state that about 15 people were still in hospital with three in intensive care.[25]
By 11 May the number of hospitalized cases dropped to two, with one of them in intensive care. In total 20 sailors were still ill.[26]
Later analysis by physicians at the Military Instruction Hospital Sainte Anne inToulon found that 60% ofCharles de Gaulle's 1706 crewmembers were antibody-positive by the end of quarantine.[27]
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