Crew members aboard US Naval ship Mercy have tested positive for coronavirus

Seven crew members on board the U.S. Naval hospital ship Mercy have tested positive for coronavirus. The patients are now isolated off the ship, and 120 crew members who were in close contact with the patients but have themselves tested negative for the virus are in quarantine also off board the ship.

The cases reportedly do not impact the ship’s ability to treat patients.

The Mercy is docked at the Port of Los Angeles. It has been positioned there since late March to serve as an overflow hospital for non-coronavirus patients from the local system. It was meant to be a strict non-coronavirus zone.

The USNS Comfort, the Mercy’s sister ship docked off the west side of Manhattan, also has a number of staffers who have now tested positive for the virus.