An investigation is ongoing to find out how the virus got on the ship, Navy spokesman Eric Lavault said on Thursday on French television. There are currently 20 soldiers in the hospital, one of them in the intensive care unit.
On Wednesday evening it was announced that out of almost 1,800 seafarers tested, most of whom came from the aircraft carrier, around 670 were infected. According to the Department of Defense, around a third of the tests had no results yet – so the numbers could still increase.
Seafarers saw families
The giant warship had arrived in the French Mediterranean port of Toulon on Easter Sunday after dozens of infections had been confirmed on board. Around 1900 crew members of the Charles-de-Gaulle and the accompanying frigate were isolated in Toulon and the surrounding area for two weeks.
According to media reports, the crew made a stopover in Brest in Brittany for a few days on March 13. The investigative portal Mediapart wrote that the seafarers were then allowed to go ashore to see their families. At that time, there were no exit restrictions in France.
Symptoms already in Brest
The first case on the ship was announced in early April. Mediapart, citing seafarers, reported that precautionary measures were relaxed too soon after the stop in Brest and that not all of the sick could later be isolated.
According to the broadcaster “France Bleu”, some soldiers have already shown symptoms in Brest. “We should have stayed in Brest,” the broadcaster quoted a sailor. The Department of Defense has emphasized in the past that strict security and protection measures were in place on the ship.
(gux / sda)
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