A Dutch combat submarine was forced to cut its voyage short and quickly return home after several of its crew members tested positive for the Covid-19 disease.
The mission was aborted after 15 sailors on board the Walrus-class submarine HNLMS ‘Dolfijn’ showed flu-like symptoms. Eight of them later tested positive for Covid-19, the Dutch Defense Ministry said.
The outbreak was discovered when the submarine was on a training mission in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. The disease forced the vessel to cut its trip short and return to the Den Helder naval base two weeks earlier than planned. All of its 58 crewmembers have been quarantined for further testing.
More than 11,700 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the Netherlands, and 864 patients have died.
Earlier this month, the US Navy reported that at least 36 sailors tested positive for Covid-19 on board the aircraft carrier USS ‘Theodore Roosevelt.’ Last week, four NATO soldiers were diagnosed with coronavirus in Afghanistan, while dozens more were quarantined with flu-like symptoms.
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