HMCS Halifax crew member tests positive for COVID-19
HMCS Halifax #HMCSHalifax
One member of HMCS Halifax tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the ship’s return to Halifax this morning.
HMCS Halifax was in Europe for NATO’s Operation Reassurance and pre-arrival COVID-19 tests yielded one positive result.
A Maritime Forces Atlantic spokesperson said the member is asymptomatic and in good health. The military didn’t say how the person contracted COVID-19.
They’ve been isolated from the rest of the ship, which has 252 sailors on board. Everyone else tested negative and no one is showing symptoms, the spokesperson said.
The ship arrived at HMC Dockyard in Halifax at 9 a.m. The ship’s company will remain on board until a round of PCR tests clears everyone. That means the ship won’t get the usual welcome home after a deployment.
HMCS Halifax crew didn’t get the usual welcome home due to a positive COVID-19 test. (Paul Palmeter/CBC)
Each crew member did get a chance to talk with family Sunday.
When the ship left Canada in January, friends and family said goodbye via live stream, rather than at the jetty, due to COVID-19 protocols.