Iran Press/America: The navy destroyer is the second US warship to be hit by an outbreak of the virus while at sea following the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, CNN reports.
At least 47 sailors from the Kidd came back positive with 45% of the crew having been tested, the Navy said in a statement Monday. That's a rapid increase from Friday when CNN reported at least 18 sailors had the virus. There are typically 330 sailors on board.
Fifteen Sailors have been evacuated to the USS Makin Island for monitoring due to persistent symptoms.
The Navy had previously flown two sailors from the ship to the United States for medical treatment and had dispatched the Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship equipped with a fleet surgical team, intensive care unit capacity, and ventilators to rendezvous with the USS Kidd to provide medical support if needed.
The Kidd is expected to pull into port in San Diego in the coming days so that the ship can be disinfected and cleaned and the crew isolated and quarantined.
Prior to the outbreak, the ship had been assigned to the recently enhanced counter-narcotics mission in the Eastern Pacific aimed at countering illicit drug trafficking.
News of the outbreak aboard the USS Kidd comes as the number of cases from the USS Theodore Roosevelt has increased to 955 with 100% of the crew having been tested.
More than 4,200 sailors, some 85% of that ship's crew, have been moved ashore to Guam where they are being isolated or quarantined. One sailor is currently being treated for coronavirus symptoms at the US Naval Hospital in Guam.
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