China’s first home-built aircraft carrier, the Shandong, tightens shore leave regulations to combat coronavirus
- Naval command sets quotas and tells crew that trips ashore need permission of captain after medical exam as ‘each and every corner’ of vessel is disinfected
- PLA Navy’s news website says some Shandong crew members were in worst-hit areas but that no infections were reported
Shore leave rules for the crew of China’s first home-built aircraft carrier have been tightened to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus on board, the navy said.
Embarking and disembarking from the Shandong will now involve extra security, Naval News, an official website of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, reported on Tuesday.
Naval command headquarters has set a daily quota for the crew, and whoever wants to go ashore must have personal permission from Captain Lai Yijun or Political Commissar Pang Jianhong after medical screening.
“That was to cut off the possible transmission outside the ship and block the virus before any infection,” the navy said. It did not say what, if any, extra measures were applied to other Chinese warships.
While the crew of the 65,000 tonne warship will stick to routine duties and training programmes, the Shandong will step up hygiene regulations and drills. “Each and every corner” of the vessel has been disinfected, Naval News, which referred to a “closed-off management” situation on the ship, said.
It stressed that military training should not be affected by outbreak precautions, while emergency breakdown drills and studies on missile defence went ahead as usual.