page_title: COVID-19 pandemic on naval ships
section_title: Leopold I
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic on naval ships / Belgium / Leopold I
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Belgische Fregatte Leopold I bei der magnetischen Vermessung an der Wilhelmshavener Wiesbadenbrücke English: Belgian frigate Leopold I at the deperming range in Wilhelmshaven
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic spread to many military ships. The nature of these ships, which includes working with others in small enclosed areas and a lack of private quarters for the vast majority of crew, contributed to the rapid spread of the disease, even more so than on cruise ships.
  Due to the nature of operations security, national militaries may have policies in place that prevent or restrict reporting of SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 deaths, so although the cases listed below may have been widely reported in reliable sources, confirmation by official spokespeople of the respective militaries is not systematic.
context_section_description: On 25 March, Belgian Defense reported that a crew member of the Belgian frigate Leopold I had tested positive. The sailor had been evacuated via air to Den Helder on 20 March after he began showing symptoms, and was quarantined at home when the test returned positive on 24 March. As a precaution, the ship broke off from its operation with the French carrier battle group led by Charles de Gaulle and returned to Zeebrugge, its home port, on 27 March, about a month earlier than planned.
caption: Leopold I in 2014
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