Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T03:00:50.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effectiveness of a COVID-19 Preventive Sequestration Strategy: Deployment of the Aircraft Carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2022

Ross Mullinax ,
Allison Krug Open the ORCID record for Allison Krug [Opens in a new window] ,
Kyle Harvey ,
Christopher Wilde ,
Uchenna Nzegwu ,
Clifton Wilcox ,
Merrill Rice  and
Robert Lipsitz
Ross Mullinax
Affiliation:
US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Allison Krug*
Affiliation:
Artemis Biomedical Communications LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
Kyle Harvey
Affiliation:
US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Christopher Wilde
Affiliation:
US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan
Uchenna Nzegwu
Affiliation:
US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan
Clifton Wilcox
Affiliation:
US Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Merrill Rice
Affiliation:
USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76)
Robert Lipsitz
Affiliation:
Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland, USA U.S. Forces Japan, Yokota, Japan
*
Corresponding author: Allison Krug, Email [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a pre-deployment sequestration (PDS) protocol to prevent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) cases on board the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).

Methods:

The USS Ronald Reagan includes a crew of approximately 3000 Sailors and an embarked Air Wing of 2000 personnel. The PDS was conducted in 3 waves of 14-day strict quarantines during the months of April and May 2020. Sailors were cleared to board the ship with 2 negative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) tests at days 14 and 16. The ship was sanitized before Wave 1 boarding.

Results:

From March 1, 2020, through May 31, 2020, a total of 51 SARS-CoV-2 positive cases were detected. During the 3 waves of PDS, 28 Sailors were found to be positive on exit testing (14, 11, and 3, respectively); no cases were found among the Air Wing. During the first 90 days at sea, no SARS-CoV-2 cases were detected among any of the embarked personnel.

Conclusions:

Although resource-intensive, the PDS protocol implemented for USS Ronald Reagan resulted in a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-free ship during a global pandemic with unprecedented scope. Elements of this pandemic PDS protocol may be useful in other highly risk-averse environments with no tolerance for COVID-19 infections.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2deploymentpreventioninfectionquarantinesequestration
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 2409 - 2411
Creative Commons
This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
Copyright
© United States Navy, 2022.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AJMC. A Timeline of COVID-19 Developments in 2020. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020 Google Scholar
Nakazawa, E, Ino, H, Akabayashi, A. Chronology of COVID-19 cases on the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship and ethical considerations: a report from Japan. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020;14(4):506-513. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2020.50 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
OurWorldInData.org. Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-cases Google Scholar
Harwood, JL, LaVan, JT, Brand, GJ Jr Two aircraft carriers’ perspectives: a comparative of control measures in shipboard H1N1 outbreaks. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2013;7(1):29-35. doi: 10.1001/dmp.2012.53 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harwood, JL, LaVan, JT, Brand, GJ Jr The attack rate of H1N1 in various berthing configurations on board an aircraft carrier. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2013;7(2):131-135. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2013.9 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moriarty, LF, Plucinski, MM, Marston, BJ, et al. Public health responses to COVID-19 outbreaks on cruise ships — worldwide, February–March 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020;69(12):347-352. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6912e3 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kakimoto, K, Kamiya, H, Yamagishi, T, et al. Initial investigation of transmission of COVID-19 among crew members during quarantine of a cruise ship — Yokohama, Japan, February 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(11):312-313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boretti, A. Analysis of the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier Covid19 epidemic: infectivity and fatality in the young, healthy, active population: lesson from the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier Covid19 Experience. Integr J Med Sci [Internet]. June 14, 2020. [cited July 8, 2020]. https://www.mbmj.org/index.php/ijms/article/view/174 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markel, H, Stern, AM, Navarro, JA, et al. Nonpharmaceutical influenza mitigation strategies, US communities, 1918–1920 pandemic. Emerg Infect Dis. 2006;12(12):1961-1964. doi: 10.3201/eid1212.060506 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheung, YT, Chau, PH, Yip, PSF. A revisit on older adult’s suicides and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in Hong Kong. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008;23:1231-1238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sprang, G, Silman, M. Posttraumatic stress disorder in parents and youth after health-related disasters. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2013;7:105-110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed