Squadron picked up USS Gerald Ford after sailor tests positive for corona virus

US Navy officials said Friday that about 100 members of a US battalion of USS Gerald Ford were evacuated as a “precautionary measure” after a sailor tested positive for coronavirus.

The unidentified sailor is a member of the Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 213, which flew F / A-18F Super Hornet aircraft and is based in Oceana, Virginia’s Naval Air Station. Stars and stripes are reported. He was never in the Ford, but he was in contact with other regiment members who were aboard the ship on Tuesday.

Most sailors can return to work on Saturday, but those in close contact with the sailor will be isolated for 14 days.

“At this time, it is believed that the risk to other USS Gerald R. Ford sailors and landing personnel is very low,” said Cmdr. Navy Air Force Atlantic spokeswoman Jennifer Crack said. “All the sailors involved [coronavirus] The positive sailor is removed from the vessel and placed in a precautionary isolation and checked [the coronavirus] Before returning to the ship. “

From Norfolk, Virginia, USS Ford conducts carrier qualifications for pilots in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the Pentagon, as of Friday, there were 2,396 more coronavirus cases in the Navy.