A crew member aboard the USNS Mercy hospital ship tested positive for COVID-19, a television station reported Wednesday evening.
The “medical treatment facility crew member” is in isolation on the ship and will be transferred off to an isolation facility, according to NBC4.
City News Service could not immediately reach the Navy for information about the crew member who tested positive for the virus.
The incident will “not affect the ability of the Mercy to receive patients,” a Navy official told NBC4.
“The ship is following protocols and is taking precautions to ensure the health and safety of all crew members and patients on board,” the official told the station.
The ship is serving as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients admitted to shore-based hospitals, and provides a full spectrum of medical care to include general surgeries, critical care and ward care for adults, according to the Navy.
The ship’s presence allows local health professionals to focus on treating COVID-19 patients and for shore-based hospitals to use their intensive care units and ventilators for those patients.
The 1,000-bed ship is staffed by more than 800 Navy medical personnel and support staff, and 70-plus civil service mariners who operate and navigate the ship, load and off-load mission cargo, assist with repairs to mission equipment and provide essential services to keep the medical facility running.