On Feb. 11, 2020, the crew of the USS Boxer gathered in the hangar bay during Boxer’s 25th anniversary celebration. Boxer was commissioned on Feb. 11, 1995 in Pascagoula, Miss.

On Feb. 11, 2020, the crew of the USS Boxer gathered in the hangar bay during Boxer’s 25th anniversary celebration. Boxer was commissioned on Feb. 11, 1995 in Pascagoula, Miss. Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin Daniel Rankin/Navy

After Discovering a Sailor With Coronavirus, the U.S. Navy Crowded Dozens Into One Space

On the USS Boxer, where the Navy discovered its first case of coronavirus on a ship, a sailor says his superiors called a meeting that crammed more than 80 senior enlisted sailors and officers together.

It wasn’t a surprise when the U.S. Navy announced Sunday that the fast-spreading coronavirus had made its way on board one of its ships, infecting a sailor on the USS Boxer, docked in San Diego.

But what happened next raises questions about how the Navy will respond to the virus within the tight quarters of its seabound vessels.

On Monday morning, in response to the discovery of the infected sailor, the warship’s leaders ordered dozens of senior enlisted sailors and officers into a cramped room on the ship to brief them on the crisis and proper social distancing, according to a sailor who attended the meeting.

That action, taken as the Navy is still evaluating who aboard the ship had come into contact with the infected sailor, runs counter to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus.

According to the sailor, the meeting in the ship’s wardroom, a gathering place, lasted about 30 minutes and forced about 80 crew members to stand roughly 2 to 4 feet from one another — far less than the 6-foot spacing called for by the CDC.

The meeting on the ship — which also has outdoor spaces that possibly could have been used instead — left some attendees feeling angry and worried that they’d been placed in unnecessary danger aboard the vessel, the sailor said.

“Definitely not enough room to maintain appropriate distance,” said the sailor, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. “People are wondering why we gathered in a room contradictory to CDC guidance.”

A Navy spokesman confirmed the meeting took place, but he would not comment on whether it was appropriate or violated federal infection control guidelines.

In a statement, the spokesman said that Navy commanders have been told “to the largest extent possible to implement social distancing,” including avoiding large gatherings and maintaining a 6-foot space from other sailors when possible.

According to the Navy’s statement Sunday, a sailor assigned to the Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, had tested “presumptive positive” for the virus that causes COVID-19. It was the first case of a sailor on board a Navy ship apparently contracting the disease. The sailor, the statement said, is now quarantined at home, along with other members of the crew believed to have been in close contact, while the ship’s crew conducts “a thorough cleaning” and takes “appropriate preventative measures.”

Gregg Gonsalves, an epidemiologist at Yale School of Medicine, told ProPublica that “putting 80 to 100 members of the crew together in a small space without knowing all who were exposed to the original index case means additional transmissions may have happened in that meeting.”

“A Navy ship with coronavirus infection is like a cruise ship with coronavirus infection,” he said. “People are in close quarters and there is easy spread of infection.”

According to the Navy website, ships like the Boxer have crews of roughly 1,200 sailors.

The Navy spokesman told ProPublica that the initial investigation into whether any other personnel came into close contact with the infected sailor was completed, but whether other sailors were infected is still being evaluated.

To make matters worse, the sailor who attended Monday’s meeting said they were briefed that limited testing kits are available.

The case of the Boxer illustrates how challenging it may be for the Navy to avoid the spread of the highly infectious virus aboard ships and submarines that require sailors to work in close quarters, sometimes for monthslong missions.

Traversing a Navy ship, for example, requires walking through a series of tight corridors with low ceilings and stale air. Some passageways are so narrow that for one sailor to pass another, one practically needs to press flat against the wall. There are doors along corridors — a measure to keep any flooding contained. A sailor walking the length of the Boxer would have to stop multiple times to turn a wheel or pull a latch to open a door, then do the same thing on the other side to seal the door again. Stairways are closed off in similar fashion.

Eating on a ship is done in close quarters as well. Sailors dine cafeteria-style, handing their plates to servers to scoop food from large bins like at a buffet. At peak hours the tables would be packed, with everyone sitting fairly close to one another — exactly the kind of dining that many cities have temporarily banned as a measure to stop the spread of the virus. The Boxer is about 840 feet long, about 80% of the length of the Eiffel Tower if it were laid flat.

It’s unclear when the Boxer will head out on its next mission, but its webpage pledges a commitment to safety: “Everything we do on and off BOXER will be done safely.”

Do you know someone in a work situation that may not protect them from coronavirus infection? If so, please contact robert.faturechi@propublica.org or reach out on Signal/WhatsApp at 213-271-7217.

This article was originally published in ProPublica. It has been republished under the Creative Commons license.  ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.