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Home» News»One Third of Charles de Gaulle CSG’ Sailors Test Positive for COVID-19
IMDEX Asia 2023

One Third of Charles de Gaulle CSG’ Sailors Test Positive for COVID-19

Tests carried out at the beginning of the week revealed that 668 French sailors (nearly one third of aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle crew) have tested positive to COVID-19. 31 service members are hospitalized and one is in intensive care. 30% of the test results are still pending.

Xavier Vavasseur 16 Apr 2020

According to a French Navy (Marine Nationale) statement, all units that were part of the carrier strike group (CSG) were back in their bases on the evening of April 13. Setting sails from Toulon on January 21 for “Mission Foch”, the CSG was involved in Operation Chammal in the eastern Mediterranean, as part of the international coalition against Daesh before participating in several multinational exercises and in protecting European maritime approaches in the Atlantic and in the North Sea.

A suspected COVID-19 epidemic aboard the aircraft carrier (40 suspected cases announced on April 8) prompted the Minister of the Armed Forces to order the early return of the Charles de Gaulle to its homeport. Four days later 50 sailors tested positive to COVID-19 of out the 66 total tests performed.

April 14: Charles de Gaulle’s crew members going through COVID-19 testing near Toulon naval base. ©Jonathan Bellenand/Marine Nationale/Défense
COVID-19 decontamination measures for the the helicopters at Hyéres naval air base © Jérôme Daulny / French Navy / Defense
COVID-19 decontamination measures for the the helicopters at Hyéres naval air base © Jérôme Daulny / French Navy / Defense

The aircraft from Charles de Gaulle’s air wing returned to their naval air bases on April 11 (the Helicopters are based in Hyères, the Rafale M in Landivisiau and the E-2C Hawkeye in Lann-Bihoué). All escort ships in the strike group returned to their respective homeports on April 12 (frigate La Motte-Picquet and supply vessel Somme are home ported in Brest, aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and destroyer Chevalier Paul are home ported in Toulon). The aircraft and ships are going through a disinfecting process, and all sailors involved will go through a screening and containment protocol developed by the French Navy in collaboration with civilian health authorities.

All sailors under quarantine

All sailors are now under a 14 days quarantine at their respective bases in Brittany and in Southern France, except for the crew members of the frigate La Motte-Picquet who were authorized to quarantine at home following negative results of an epidemiological investigation carried out on the ship.

Landivisiau, 11 april 2020. A Rafale M pilot from the Charles de Gaulle airwing wearing a face mask. ©Frédéric Lucas/Marine Nationale/Défense
Lann-Bihouë, 11 april 2020. Crew memembers from an E-2C Hawkeye follow sanitary protocols following the COVID-19 outbreak aboard Charles de Gaulle ©Frédéric Lucas/Marine Nationale/Défense

On the evening of April 14, 1,767 sailors from the Carrier Strike Group were tested. The vast majority of these tests at this stage concern sailors from the aircraft carrier. 30% of these tests have not yet delivered their results. 668 were positive. Among them, 31 are hospitalized today at the Sainte-Anne army training hospital in Toulon, including one in intensive care. This test campaign is still ongoing.


French Navy statement issued on April 15

The Chief of Staff of the French Navy, Admiral Prazuck, has ordered a command investigation into the outbreak and how it was managed within the carrier strike group.

Two US Navy sailors tested positive

According to USNI News, at least two American sailors are among the sick on Charles de Gaulle, though neither navy has elaborated on the severity of their conditions. Four American sailors are assigned to Charles de Gaulle as part of the Navy’s Personnel Exchange Program.

Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Coronavirus French Navy 2020-04-16
Tags Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Coronavirus French Navy
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Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

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