San Diego - May 2020: Chief Cryptologic Technician Marisol Swenney, left, and Chief Fire Controlman Roland Reyes, both assigned to the future guided-missile destroyer USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118), review a muster sheet during crew swap, the next phase of recovery for the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100). The Navy re-tested the crew for COVID-19 and transferred nearly 90 confirmed healthy Sailors from quarantine to the ship to replace a caretaker crew that had been aboard since the ship arrived in San Diego. (Navy photo by MCS 2nd Class Alex Corona)
By: FEDweek StaffThe Navy failed to implement measures that could have reduced the spread of Covid-19 on two of its ships last year, according to a report made public Feb. 8 by the Defense Department inspector general (IG). The mishandling contributed to the virus’ spread on two ships – the carrier Theodore Roosevelt and destroyer Kidd, the report concluded.
The IG report cited an internal investigation, which “determined that the ineffective implementation of social distancing and the premature release of sailors from quarantine were primary causes of increased infection” on the carrier. “This occurred because the USS Theodore Roosevelt leadership did not effectively implement mitigation measures for the majority of their crew.”
Social-gathering areas remained open, non-essential urinalysis testing continued, and sailors were released from quarantine prematurely because of overcrowded spaces as well, according to the report.
“They believed the quarantine caused more sailors to become infected,” the IG stated.
The report also recommended that the Navy review actions taken on the Kidd in the aftermath of the outbreak last April. Unlike Roosevelt, Kidd had a much smaller medical staff consisting of three hospital corpsmen. A medical team flew out to the ship to help, and infected crew members were evacuated to a hospital ashore.
The IG recommended that the Navy’s chief planners “include the observations and analysis” of the Kidd incident when it updates policies for addressing infectious diseases. Additionally, it recommended that Navy commands conduct pandemic influenza and infectious diseases exercises every two years.
