COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported aboard two Navy ships, including the Mayport-based USS Philippine Sea, which is at sea.
The Navy declined to specify the location of the Philippine Sea, citing security reasons, but said it is expected to pull into an undisclosed port to test everyone who may have been exposed to the virus.
Naval Station Mayport serves as the USS Philippine's homeport.
An exact number of confirmed COVID-19 cases wasn’t cited but the U.S. 5th Fleet said several crew members have been identified as “persons under investigation."
Additionally, crew members identified as having close contact with those potentially infected have been isolated in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Twelve crew members have been confirmed as having COVID-19 aboard the USS San Diego, which is currently pierside in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Those cases have been isolated on board and the ship remains in a restricted COVID bubble.
The USS Philippine Sea is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and was commissioned on March 3, 1989. The USS San Diego is an amphibious transport dock.
Among its most recent missions was seizing more than 600 pounds of heroin in the North Arabian Sea last month, according to UScarriers.net.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
