Page 27 - bon-dia-aruba-20200418

A27
WORLD NEWS Saturday 18 april 2020

France finds more than 1,000 virus cases on aircraft carrier

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER and their movements on and
ELAINE GANLEY off the vessel, according
Associated Press to Lavault. The defense
PARIS (AP) — The French minister defended the de-
navy is investigating how cision to allow the ship to
the coronavirus infected stop in Brest in mid-March,
more than 1,000 sailors even though France had
aboard the aircraft carrier already ordered all schools
Charles de Gaulle, amid closed to fight the virus and
growing pressure on gov- the government was pre-
ernment leaders to explain paring confinement mea-
how it could have hap- sures. Hours after the ship
pened. left, President Emmanuel
The ship, France's biggest Macron announced a na-
carrier and the flagship of tionwide lockdown, among
its navy, is undergoing a the strictest in Europe.
lengthy disinfection pro- With nearly 2,000 sailors on
cess since returning to its the aircraft carrier alone,
home base in Toulon five there is a constant flow of
days ago. people frequenting the in-
One person remains in in- firmary. In the North Sea,
tensive care and some 20 temperatures sometimes
others hospitalized, navy dropped to -5 degrees Cel-
spokesman Cmdr. Eric La- The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle arrives in the bay of Toulon, southern France, Sunday sius (23 F), he said.
vault told The Associated April 12, 2020. Associated Press. The number of infections
Press. "rose exponentially" from
Two of four U.S. sailors serv- social distancing measures vice arm were questioned the paths of the personnel about April 4-5, and lung
ing aboard the Charles … on a combat vessel," Friday about the infections is in progress. Lavault not- scans were taken on sus-
de Gaulle as part of an Lavault said. But "security at parliamentary hearings. ed that the aircraft carrier pected cases, Lavault said.
exchange program also of the crew is the first con- Defense Minister Florence made a call in the French "It's from this date that the
tested positive, according cern. A combat ship, espe- Parly told lawmakers that port of Brest, on the Atlan- commander decided to
to a U.S. Navy statement. cially an aircraft carrier, is 1,081 of the 2,300 people tic Ocean, had been in the alert Navy headquarters to
A British sailor was aboard nothing without its crew." aboard the Charles de North Sea as part of a "na- propose ending the opera-
another vessel, Lavault A similar outbreak on the Gaulle and its escort ves- val diplomacy" mission with tion, a decision taken im-
said, refusing to reveal the USS Theodore Roosevelt sels have tested positive so NATO partners, and had mediately by the (defense)
sailor's health status. and a dispute about how far — nearly half the overall stopped in Cyprus during minister," he said.
Lavault insisted that the air- the at-sea health crisis was personnel. an operation in the eastern The aircraft carrier was
craft carrier's commander handled led to the firing of While the virus has immobi- Mediterranean Sea to join back in its home base at
sought to increase the its captain and the resigna- lized the immense and im- in the fight against the Is- the Mediterranean port of
physical distance among tion this month of the act- portant ship, Parly insisted lamic State group. Toulon on April 12.
the crew on the vessel, ing U.S. Navy secretary. that otherwise "our forces Journalists had boarded "We are and will be trans-
where there was no testing The French navy has been continue to assure the de- the vessel at one point. parent" about the health
equipment and for most of spared major controversy fense of our country at sea, "All hypotheses are on the situation, the health direc-
its three months on opera- so far, but the defense min- under the sea, on land and table," Lavault said. tor Maryline Gygax Gen-
tions, no masks. ister and the head of the in the air." So far, 350 crew members ero told the parliamentary
It is "very difficult to apply French military's health ser- An investigation to retrace have been grilled about commission. q

German diocese transfers black priest after death threat

BERLIN (AP) — Catholic rick Asomugha, will leave parish since last year and der the circumstances, he The diocese said Asomu-
Church officials in Germa- his post in the parish of his rectory was twice bro- was unable to do his job gha would be given a new
ny say they are transferring Queidersbach next week. ken into. Last fall, his car tires in Queidersbach, which is role during the course of
a black priest to another In a statement, it said that were slashed and in March located close to the U.S. the summer.
post over concern for his the "concerns for the pro- a death threat was left on Army's Regional Medical Four years ago, a Congo-
safety, after his house and tection and health of Fa- his garage door. Two days Center in Landstuhl. lese-born priest stepped
car were attacked and he ther Asomugha made this later somebody smashed "The attack against me down from his post in Ba-
received a death threat. step unavoidable." bottles against the door of have made it almost impos- varia after receiving anon-
The diocese of Speyer in The diocese said that Aso- his home. A police investi- sible to lead a normal par- ymous death threats and
southwest Germany said mugha, who is from Nige- gation is ongoing. ish life in Queidersbach," he hate mail for standing up
Friday that the priest, Pat- ria, has faced hostility in the Asomugha said that, un- said. for refugees.q