The U.S. Navy announced on Tuesday, that nearly 90 sailors have been moved from quarantine to the USS Kidd (DDG-100) this week to replace the caretaker crew that has been on the ship since it docked in San Diego at the end of April. The U.S. Navy said it re-tested 100 percent of the crew before moving them back to the ship, which reported a COVID-19 outbreak on board at the end of April. This was the second instance of the coronavirus being found aboard an American naval ship that had been deployed.
“Our number one priority is to protect the health of our force and our families. By doing that, we also help to protect the health of our communities where we serve,” Vice Adm. Richard Brown, Commander of Naval Surface Forces, said in a statement. “Before we clear any sailor to return to the ship, they must receive two separate negative test results. We’re focused on the health and safety of sailors, and ensuring the full recovery of Kidd’s crew.”
The USS Kidd’s crew will continue to clean the ship and care for the crew for about two weeks, and all crew members will be retested before the ship resumes deployment in the Pacific. The USS Kidd’s deployment was interrupted when 18 of its 300-person crew tested positive for COVID-19. The U.S. Navy has not released the most recent number of positive tests on the ship. Over the weekend, 13 sailors on the USS Roosevelt tested positive for COVID-19 after having apparently recovered.
USS Kidd (DDG-100) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. She is the third Navy ship named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who was on board Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was the first American flag officer to die in World War II. The ship is part of Destroyer Squadron 23 of Carrier Strike Group 9 which is currently headed by the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
