USS Milwaukee back to sea following COVID-19 outbreak
Also: Navy ship hit with outbreak returns to sea with coronavirus-positive sailors isolated on board (Washington Post)
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Source: Navy Times
USS Milwaukee back to sea following COVID-19 outbreak
By Geoff Ziezulewicz
Jan 3, 08:46 PM
The littoral combat ship Milwaukee returned to sea Monday following a COVID-19 outbreak among the crew that sidelined the ship in recent weeks.
The ship had just begun its deployment to the waters of U.S. 4th Fleet when COVID struck an unspecified portion of the crew, forcing the ship to extend a scheduled port visit to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that began on Dec. 20.
It remains unclear when the outbreak was first detected, but the sea service first disclosed details on Dec. 24.
While the Navy has declined to say how many Milwaukee sailors were infected, the entire crew was fully vaccinated and infected sailors “exhibited mild or no symptoms,” the Navy said Monday.
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Read more: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2022/01/03/uss-milwaukee-back-to-sea-following-covid-19-outbreak/
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Source: Washington Post
Navy ship hit with outbreak returns to sea with coronavirus-positive sailors isolated on board
By Reis Thebault and Andrew deGrandpre
Yesterday at 9:56 p.m. EST
The U.S. Navy combat ship that was sidelined by a coronavirus outbreak among its crew last month has returned to sea, even as some sailors on board remain positive for the virus, officials said on Monday.
The USS Milwaukee, a littoral combat ship with a crew of 105 plus a detachment of Coast Guard personnel and an aviation unit, had been at port in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, since Dec. 20, after stopping at the U.S. military base there to refuel. The Associated Press reported that about 25 percent of the ship’s sailors had tested positive.
Officials said Monday that “all affected sailors exhibited mild or no symptoms.”
Cmdr. Kate Meadows, a spokeswoman for U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, did not specify how many crew members were still positive but said in an email to The Washington Post that they were “isolated aboard” the ship. The entire crew was not tested before departure, she added.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/01/03/uss-milwaukee-covid-outbreak/