[ad_1]
In January, the Prime Minister addressed sailors aboard the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, praising the battleship as the jewel of the country.
“Remember that the French always monitor you and are proud of you,” Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said as Charles de Gaulle, the only aircraft carrier in the French navy, was on duty in the Mediterranean. .
Three months later, that pride gave way to blame and investigations, when more than 1,000 sailors, representing approximately 60% of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle’s task force, became infected with nCoV, forcing the Navy to shorten the mission to return to the port.
Hundreds of carrier crews were quarantined at military bases across France. A sailor undergoes intensive care, about half without symptoms.
Marines and firefighters disinfected the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier in Toulon on April 16. Photos: AFP.
Célyne Flandrin, 29, the wife of a sailor infected with nCoV, said she did not expect this situation to occur. “I told people that I calmed down because I was in the middle of the ocean. It wouldn’t get infected and I didn’t have to worry. I was very surprised when it ended like this.”
Flandrin, who lives in Toulon, said her husband called after returning to France last weekend, saying he had a cough and sore throat. Her husband was later confirmed to be positive for nCoV, but her health improved and she is being isolated at a naval base. “It’s scary to see what viral damage it can cause,” said Flandrin.
France is not the only country facing an nCoV outbreak on aircraft carriers. One American sailor is dead and hundreds of people are infected with nCoV on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier.
However, the US Navy. USA It has 11 aircraft carriers, while France only has one. Charles de Gaulle, commissioned in 2001 and slated to “retire” in 2040, played a major role in France’s nuclear deterrent system because nuclear-armed Rafale fighters took off from here. .
In late January, Charles de Gaulle left the port of Toulon in the eastern Mediterranean to participate in a self-proclaimed anti-Islamic State (IS) campaign, before leaving for the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, where they had plans. Plan to participate in multinational naval exercises.
French naval spokesman Éric Lavault said that because the area was cold, the doctors on board were not surprised to see 15-20 sailors displaying cough symptoms every day. “The ship’s captain became concerned on April 5, when he witnessed a sudden and exponential increase in the number of people who came to the clinic on board with signs of Covid-19,” said Lavault.
Biological samples from the two sailors were sent to military hospitals in France for analysis and found that the sailors were infected with nCoV. Defense Secretary Florence Parly quickly decided to shorten the mission of the Charles de Gaulle group of ships after naval officers reported the situation on board. “That problem kept me awake at night,” said Parly.
It is unclear when the nCoV has entered the French operator. The train once stopped in Cyprus in February, but The main assumption is that nCoV “sneaked” onto the ship after it stopped at the French port of Brest.
When the ship arrived in Brest on March 13, France banned the gathering of more than 100 people, and President Macron announced the closure of the school. But companies and stores are still open and the country is going to vote locally. By the time the ship left on the morning of March 16 with 52 new sailors, the government ordered the closure of restaurants, movie theaters, and other entertainment facilities. That night, Macron announced strict restrictions at the national level.
While at Brest, Captain Guillaume Pinget no longer allowed family members of sailors to visit the ship, but the sailors disembarked. Flandrin’s husband met her when she flew to Brest and accompanied other sailors to restaurants, bars, and shops.
French chief of staff François Lecointre said last week that officials had considered canceling the trip to Brest, but that it was a major logistical stop. Sailors must follow “community isolation” guidelines, avoid going to nightclubs, and gather more than 50 people.
Many say it is not enough. “Why does our only aircraft carrier, of strategic importance to France, return to the sea without a risk assessment after the sailors landed, contacted the people of Brest and were reunited? Their family?” Said Alexis. Corbière, a French MP of subjugation.
After the ship left Brest, the captain canceled some daily meetings and closed the meeting area. The seats in the canteen are separate. But after 14 days without a clear case of suspected infection, he allowed some restrictions to be relaxed until he saw a disturbing trend beginning April 5.
Like most of France, the ship faced the situation. Missing mask. They had no mask until they stopped in Denmark in late March.
Admiral Barshe Prazuck, chief of the French navy, said the defense measures were outweighed by “cunning and cunning viruses” and insisted that “they must learn what happened.” The Defense Ministry has requested an internal investigation and epidemiology, and preliminary conclusions are expected in a few weeks.
“Regulations have been insufficient to ensure that sailors do not bring nCoVs on board,” Lecointre said last week, emphasizing that “essential and iconic military tools are no longer used.” usable “We must restore this ability as quickly as possible, because it is a defect.”
Phương Vũ (The O NYTimes)
