7 Crew Members Of Hospital Ship USNS Mercy Test Positive For COVID-19

The U.S. Navy is facing a surge in COVID-19 cases among crew members onboard the USNS Mercy as four more sailors have tested positive for the virus over the weekend.

3^rd Fleet spokesman Cmdr. John Fage told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the new cases brought the total of infected crew members to seven and are now being isolated off the ship.

Those who have been in close contact with the COVID-19-positive sailors are also in quarantine off the ship, although one crew member – the fifth in the growing list – came back positive. The rest of tests were negative, Fage added, through ABC News.

The first crew member onboard the medical ship to have contracted COVID-19 was reported on April 8. Two days later, the Navy announced two more sailors have tested positive for the virus.

Fage detailed in his email that the ship is following the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while at the same time, “taking every precaution” to further protect the health and safety of the rest of the crew members and patients of USNS Mercy.

Despite unfortunate predicament, Fage also said that it will not affect the ability of the USNS Mercy – the Medical Treatment Facility that is currently docked at the port of Los Angeles – to receive patients.

The USNS Mercy was first dispatched to San Diego on March 23 and arrived in Los Angeles four days later to help the state's hospitals with their non-COVID-19 patients. One crew member told the Union-Tribune that crew members and medical staff “brought the virus with them” when they came aboard after their rotation through the COVID-19 screening area at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

The ship carries 800 active-duty doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers. Also lending their help are more than 70 civil service mariners, according to CBS 8.

The outlet also echoed the statement of California Governor Gavin Newsom when he said that the USNS Mercy will “prioritize” senior citizens living at nursing homes that are not COVID-19 positive. Gavin further explained that the ship will be utilized to isolate healthy people from those who have been infected by the illness in an effort to “reduce hot spots.”