WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2020) A sailor on the US destroyer Kidd, one of several crew members that have been confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), was flown out for treatment and the ship is returning to port to deal with the health emergency, Department of Defense spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said during a briefing.
"I can confirm that there has been a sailor on USS Kidd who had symptoms was medevaced off the ship to a hospital in San Antonio," Hoffman said, adding that the sailor was found to be infected with the novel coronavirus.
Hoffman also said there have been other COVID-19 positive cases, but did not provide a number of how many crew members are infected.
The spokesman said the ship is preparing to return to port to remove a portion of the crew and disinfect the vessel.
Hoffman said the US Navy used the lessons learnt from other cases and flowed in a medical evaluation team to conduct testing.
"I think it's an eight-person team that is conducting testing on the ship," Hoffman said
The team is also conducting contact tracing and isolating persons beloved to have been exposed to the virus, Hoffman added.
