COVID outbreak aboard Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier

Around 100 cases of coronavirus have been recorded on the Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, even after all of the crew members had been vaccinated.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is about a quarter of the way through a 28-week deployment leading the Carrier Strike Group (CSG). It marked the warship’s first operational deployment and will cover 26,000 miles across 40 countries.

Around 3,700 personnel are part of the CSG. Several other warships in the fleet accompanying the aircraft carrier are also affected, BBC reported today.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said all crew on the deployment had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and the outbreak was being managed. “Our crew are double vaccinated so you'll be glad to know there is no serious effects on any of the crew and we will manage it,” he said during a press briefing on Tuesday while on a visit to the UK.

A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "As part of routine testing, a small number of crew from the Carrier Strike Group have tested positive for COVID-19. The Carrier Strike Group will continue to deliver their operational tasks and there are no effects on the deployment."

In October 2020, over 30 sailors aboard UK Royal Navy’s HMS Vigilant (S30) nuclear submarine have contracted COVID-19 virus following a port visit to US Navy’s East Coast SSBN hub.

The French Navy’s ‘Charles de Gaulle’ aircraft carrier too was hit with coronavirus last year besides around 15 U.S. Navy vessels.