(B2) The resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic is once again affecting CSDP missions and operations. This is especially for Operation Irini
The flagship ITS Carlo Margottini at anchor (credit: EUNAVFOR Med Irini)
Suspicious symptoms aboard the flagship sounded the alarm
Initially, there were only a few suspicious symptoms that sounded the alarm on theITS Carlo Margottini (F-592), the flagship of the operation in charge of monitoring the embargo off the coast of Libya (EUNAVFOR Med Irini). The head of the Italian Navy in Sicily, Admiral Andrea Cottini then requested specialized intervention. Doctors from the Department of Prevention and the Department of Infectious Diseases of the Umberto I Hospital in Syracuse then boarded, said the regional health agency (Provincial Sanitary Azienda).
Un good third of the workforce affected
The epidemic was already well advanced. The first results of the tests showed that around 25 sailors and officers were affected, the operation headquarters in Rome confirmed on Friday (September 47). 4 members of the crew of the Italian FREMM type frigate and 186 of the on-board force staff, out of a total staff of 25 members (including XNUMX from the force staff). After the result of another battery of tests, 60 soldiers have tested positive for coronavirus. But the living conditions on board, with natural promiscuity, could cause this assessment to change more significantly.
The general staff partially reached
Most of the patients are Italians (which is logical given the composition of the crew). But we also find a good part of the nationalities of the on-board staff: in particular three Finns, of the four who were on board, according to our information (and not two as initially indicated by the finnish navy). Only one Frenchman is on board (and not none as stated by an official French source).
Six hospitalized in Syracuse
Of the 51 at the start, about fifteen presented proven suspicious symptoms, the majority of the others were asymptomatic. Six, in the end, were transferred to the Covid center of the Syracuse hospital (and not four as initially mentioned). Their condition is not considered serious according to our information. The others are seen to prescribe the appropriate medical therapies ". The " positive with mild symptoms were placed in quarantine on the Margottini under close surveillance also by the medical staff of the hospital on board. The other asymptomatic positives were transferred to the navy premises, duly identified according to an official note, also passed on in the italian press.
The flagship returns to Taranto, mission suspended
« After 15 days of activity at sea “, the Margottini who had taken up the duties of flagship in early September (read: Change of flagship to EUNAVFOR Med Irini) was on a logistical break in Sicily. Moored on the quay of Melilli, near the port of Augusta, in the area reserved for NATO allied military ships, the ship left at the end of the afternoon yesterday (Friday 25), with on board only staff who tested negative. Direction: the base in Taranto (in Puglia), which he should reach on Saturday morning (September 26), according to our information.
The origin to follow
The question of how the epidemic spread remains to be clarified. The ship is usually based in La Spezia (in Northern Italy). Normally all sailors have been tested before embarkation (all tests were negative). But the contacts between ship and land. The figure of 51 could therefore increase in the coming days. Force command activity could continue.
A squad to complete or a new flagship
But with reduced resources, due to the scale of the epidemic, and the almost necessary confinement of the rest of the crew, the question of replacing the flagship could very quickly arise. Its patrol mission in the Mediterranean could be stopped prematurely. A Greek ship was to take over in mid-October (the 19th). Will he take over sooner?
In Mali, the epidemic is just as severe, albeit in a more limited way. The training mission of the Malian army. The original toll (six cases at Koulikoro camp) very quickly rose to 25 positive cases at Koulikoro camp and three at Bamako HQ. Patients have " been immediately isolated and those with whom they have been in contact are quarantined, to ensure that the appropriate measures are implemented says the EU mission responsible for training the Malian army. NB: The formations were suspended until the situation cleared up after the coup.
(Update 26.9 - 29.9. 30.9) Fixes made on the exact function of Admiral Cottini, the sequence of tests and the forecast of the arrival of the ship in Taranto + the nationalities present on board. Change in the balance sheet at EUNAVFOR Med and EUTM Mali
Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).
