The “Charles de Gaulle” enigma has now become a political affair. More than a week after the revelation of the presence of patients from the Covid-19 on board the aircraft carrier, flagship of the French army, the search for the patient zero was doubled that of those responsible. How could more than 1000 sailors have been contaminated? We take stock of what we know about this riddle.
How many sailors are affected by Covid-19?
The results are final this time: 1046 sailors from the French aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" tested positive for the new coronavirus out of a total of 1760, the French army said on Saturday. This is slightly less than what the Minister of the Armies, Florence Parly, announced to the Defense Committee of the National Assembly on Friday, since she had given the figure of 1081 positive sailors to Covid-19 on the whole of the carrier strike group (the aircraft carrier, the accompanying ships and the aircraft), i.e. 2300 people. An immense majority of them come from the nuclear building itself, on which the virus has spread like wildfire, affecting almost 60% of the workforce.
What state are they in?
Almost half of the sailors tested positive are asymptomatic. Between 20 and 30 sailors are currently hospitalized depending on the day at the Sainte-Anne military hospital in Toulon (South-East of France), the city where the aircraft carrier docked last Sunday two weeks ahead of the end. of his three-month mission. A major in his fifties is in intensive care. His condition is stationary and his "respiratory reflexes are working," spokesman for the French Navy, Captain Eric Lavault, told AFP.
VIDEO. Coronavirus: the arrival of the Charles-de-Gaulle aircraft carrier in Toulon
How were they infected?
It is the great enigma of this whole story. The crew was not in contact with any external element since a stopover in Brest (Finistère) from March 13 to 16. Was the virus on board the aircraft carrier even before the 13th or did it go up on the return of the sailors from their few days of freedom? "We don't know yet," replied Florence Parly on Friday. "Several hypotheses are under study," she simply commented, referring to this stopover, which occurred just before the confinement decreed in France on the evening of March 16 by Emmanuel Macron and a month after a previous stopover in Limassol, at Cyprus.
Others are more categorical. Questioned this Saturday by France Info, Admiral Alain Coldefy, former aircraft carrier commander, points to the famous Brest stopover. "This contamination probably came from the outside since the aircraft carrier and all the force left in mid-January [...] and nothing happened during this whole period," he says. Brest is a place where there are many families. Municipal elections were taking place, there were certainly people voting in Brest. "The virus would then have had no trouble spreading due to the promiscuity on board the aircraft carrier where," in places, about twenty sailors who sleep together on three or four floors of berths, "recalls the former military.
To find out more, two investigations, one of command and one epidemiological, were carried out. Their findings will be "made public," promised Florence Parly, who asked to receive "a milestone" within two weeks.
Why is the department singled out?
Several sailors or their relatives have denounced, in French media and on condition of anonymity, a framework that has been overtaken by events. One of the soldiers aboard the "Charles de Gaulle", himself tested positive for Covid-19, confided in France Bleu: he accuses the army of having "played with [their] health, [their] life " According to him, sailors reported symptoms from the stopover in Brest and the commander of the aircraft carrier then offered to interrupt the mission, which the Ministry of the Armed Forces refused.
Through his spokesperson, the latter has repeatedly denounced what he calls "false information". The ministry thus assures that it never refused to shorten the mission. Concerning the state of health of the sailors, he ensures that there has never been a sailor on a ventilator, another noise that circulates. "I understand those who are worried, who may be a little angry too, but I cannot let go of the rumors that we would do anything with the health of our sailors," insists the ministry, which ensures that up to 'As of April 5, hospital attendance was in line with usual statistics on a current mission.
When will Charles de Gaulle be able to return to sea?
Florence Parly recognized this on Friday: yes, of course, "the Covid changes our plans and our forecasts". If only by the mission of "Charles de Gaulle" was to end initially on April 23. The delay by the army should be very substantial. Asked about the date of the aircraft carrier's return to sea, the minister indicated that she had to "undergo maintenance activities" and that "it is from June that a return to sea is possible "
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Very prosaically, the ship must indeed be decontaminated. During the week, the Marseilles firefighters battalion and the 2nd Dragons regiment determined the areas to be disinfected. Because not everything will be combed through this gigantic building. Only catering and gathering places will be cleaned. A specialized company will be responsible for this. This task should take weeks.