PARIS: At least 668 sailors and aircrew from France's flagship aircraft carrier have tested positive for coronavirus, the country's armed forces confirmed, according to Daily Mail report. It comes after a majority of the 1,767 crew on board the Charles de Gaulle carrier were evacuated and tested for the virus after arriving in port at Toulon on Sunday.
Of those infected, 31 are in hospital and one is in intensive care. The number of infected is likely to rise further, since not all test results have come back yet.
'Of those who were on board, 668 have tested positive to Covid-19, but there will be more because around 30 per cent of test results are still not known,' said an Armed Forces Ministry spokesman in Paris, reports the Daily Mail. Beyond sailors and commandoes, the Charles de Gaulle has an air wing of 600 pilots and support crew.
According to Daily Mail, Florence Parly, France's Armed Forces minister, admitted that Coronavirus was leading to a review of her country's defence commitments around the world. 'Does Covid-19 change our plans and our operations? Yes, sometimes,' Parly told a Senate Committee of Foreign Affairs. 'But does it deflect us from our objectives? No.'
