A U.S. sailor deployed to Naples, Italy, has tested positive for the coronavirus, marking the Navy’s first confirmed case and the first of a service member stationed in Europe.
The sailor stationed at Naval Support Activity Naples in southern Italy tested positive for the virus on Friday, U.S. European Command confirmed in a statement.
‘The member is currently restricted to their residence, receiving supportive and medical care in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control,’ said European Command.
‘Military health professionals are conducting a thorough contact investigation to determine whether any other personnel may have been exposed,’ it said.
The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Carson City transits the Gulf of Gaeta in the Tyrrhenian Sea on its way to Naval Support Activity Naples in a file photo. A sailor stationed at the facility tested positive for coronavirus on Friday
Naples is outside of the northern Italy ‘red zones’ that have been locked down in the outbreak
Personnel that the infected sailor had close contact with have been notified and are in self-isolation at their residence.
Naples is outside of the northern Italy ‘red zones’ that have been hardest hit by the virus, but the outbreak has quickly spread, making Italy Europe’s hardest-hit country so far in the epidemic.
On Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Italy jumped by more than 1,200, to 5,883, the biggest daily rise since the epidemic began there just over two weeks ago.
Deaths due to the highly infectious virus were up 36 to 233, said the head of Italy’s civil protection agency, Angelo Borrelli
The sailor in Naples is the second confirmed case among U.S. forces following another in South Korea.
A U.S. soldier stationed near the southeastern city of Daegu and his wife both tested positive for the virus.
An ambulance drives through the main gate of US Army Camp Carroll in South Korea in late February, after a soldier stationed there tested positive for coronavirus
The 23-year-old soldier stationed at Camp Carroll tested positive for the virus on February 25, according to United States Forces Korea.
USFK said it ‘remains at risk level ‘high’ peninsula-wide and is implementing all appropriate control measures to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.’
Outside of China, where the epidemic began, South Korea has seen the most cases of the deadly virus.
South Korea’s coronavirus cases jumped above 7,000 on Saturday, up by 448 from the previous day, health authorities said.
The death toll rose by two to 46, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
Military officials have begun taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus among troops.
The Army is screening all new recruits at four basic training centers around the country for coronavirus.
The US Army will begin screening as many as 1,000 new recruits per week at either Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; or Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Pictured: Soldiers stationed on US Army Garrison Casey in South Korea undergo screenings, February 26
Recruits will undergo the screenings at Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; or Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
In the U.S. the number of coronavirus cases exceeded 380 on Saturday, and the death toll has reached 19.
Two new deaths were reported in the state of Washington on Saturday, raising the death toll there to 16.
At least 10 of those who died in Washington had been linked to a nursing home in the Seattle area.
As well, two people have died in Florida and one has died in California.