Navy commands on Wednesday reported that a sailor at Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 48 in Florida tested positive for the respiratory disease, as did a civilian worker at the Naval Construction Battalion Center’s Naval Exchange in Gulfport, Mississippi.

The San Diego sailor’s results came back on Wednesday, four days after another enlisted sailor from Boxer tested positive for COVID-19.

“There is no indication that the sailors were in close contact with each other, but a thorough contact investigation continues,” U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Myers J. Vasquez told Navy Times.

Boxer remains at Naval Base San Diego and is not at sea. Both sailors have been confined to their residences off base. Anyone who came into close contact with them also has been isolated and is self-monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms.

Officials told Navy Times that the latest positive case tied to the warship isn’t believed to be linked to a coronavirus cluster that blossomed inside the Training Support Center at Naval Base San Diego.

That outbreak snared the first case from Boxer’s crew. He’s believed to have contracted COVID-19 from an instructor.

A third enlisted sailor from Naval Base Point Loma who also was attending a course at the schoolhouse at Naval Base San Diego caught coronavirus, forcing Naval Education and Training Command to shutter a large number of classrooms there.

But authorities told Navy Times that there’s no evidence the two sailors from Boxer had close contact with each other.

One was a blue shirt and the other a member of the Goat Locker. Although the chief briefly visited Boxer on March 16, he’s not believed to have had close contact with any crew members and both sailors worked in different divisions.

One of the patients recently took leave locally and the other returned from out of town.

Sailors standing watch continue to stay overnight on the warship, but their sleeping arrangements are now spaced at least 6 feet away from each other, per Pentagon and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“Sailors are reporting to the ship to maintain readiness,” said spokesman Vasquez. “In the U.S. Pacific Fleet and across the Navy, our three missions are to protect sailors and their families, prevent the spread of the virus, and ensure warfighting readiness.

“We are taking every measure possible to protect the health of our force.”

Officials insist that Boxer’s crew has developed what they’re calling “an aggressive mitigation strategy” to halt the spread of the disease, including establishing a medical station at the quarterdeck to screen all personnel coming aboard the vessel.

Quarterdeck watchstanders wear nitrile gloves to prevent touching others, and they’ve been ordered to maintain social distancing similar to the sleeping arrangements. Group gatherings and formations are minimized and sailors are “deep cleaning” the ship with bleach twice daily, according to a prepared statement emailed from the Pentagon to Navy Times.

Antiseptic wipes and hand sanitizer are located in workspaces near computers, mess decks, common areas and the tool issue, officials added.

The ship’s gyms are closed and there are no self-serve meals on the mess decks, chief petty officer mess or wardroom.

Three days after taking the test for coronavirus, a sailor assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 48 at Naval Station Mayport in Florida was confirmed positive for the disease.

Like other Navy COVID-19 patients, the sailor remains confined to an off-base residence while health authorities conduct a contact investigation to trace any others possibly exposed to the virus.

“The health of our people and the readiness of our force is critical. Our people are our most valuable assets,” said Naval Air Force Atlantic spokeswoman Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg.

Cragg declined to provide details about that investigation, but officials are not sure other Vipers were exposed to the disease. The sailor had been traveling on orders and did not report back to the unit after showing symptoms for the virus.

The patient is believed to be the first sailor in an East Coast naval aviation squadron to contract the disease.

And in Mississippi, a NEX employee is undergoing evaluation and treatment while public health agencies investigate potential contacts with other people, according to a Pentagon press release.

“In consultation with the State of Mississippi Public Health and Navy public health officials it was deemed that a quarantine for additional personnel was not needed due to the lack of exposure to other NEX employees/associates or patrons,” the prepared statement indicated.

“Out of an abundance of caution the Yokosuka Child Development Center is closed until further notice,” Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka’s Facebook page posted on Wednesday. “Ensuring the safety of our Navy personnel and their families is our top priority, and we will take every precaution necessary to do so.”

Jarrett issued a letter to parents on base Wednesday notifying them that test results for the child development center attendee are pending and the child development center facility is being “appropriately sanitized.” As a result, he said the child development center will remain closed the rest of the week, but could re-open on March 23.

However, CFAY said on Facebook the child development center at Ikego, a U.S. Navy housing detachment less than 10 miles from Yokosuka, will still operate as usual.

There have been more than 800 coronavirus cases in Japan as of Tuesday, according to the World Health Organization. However, there have been no confirmed cases among those affiliated with Yokosuka Naval Base yet, per Jarrett.

“As of today, no one from U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) has tested positive for the virus, but we cannot predict the results of individual tests,” Jarrett said in the letter.

“Please continue to practice all recommended everyday preventative measures to keep you and your family healthy,” Jarrett said. “This is critical during the ongoing public health situation and will help us to keep the child development center open and serving the community.”

A similar situation also unfolded at neighboring Yokota Air Base this week. There, a staff member for the base’s child development center also was tested for COVID-19, prompting the child care facility on base to temporarily close.

“During the closure, professionals will sanitize all facilities according to protocol before the CDC reopens and children are able to return on Monday,” Yokota Air Base said on Facebook Tuesday.

Yokota added that there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases on the base yet.

The decision to close Yokosuka Naval Base’s child development center came while leaders at Commander, Navy Installations Command began sweeping changes to programs worldwide.

On Tuesday evening, CNIC officials confirmed that a draft list of reforms sparked by the global coronavirus epidemic had been enacted.

“During the current COVID-19 crisis, we are adapting our Child and Youth Program (CYP) operations to meet both the Navy’s mission and family requirements while ensuring the children in our care and our professionals are healthy and safe.”

Perhaps most controversially, new measures waive the need for criminal background checks for “supplemental staffing” employees imported from other military programs for “increased cleaning/sanitation” designed to combat COVID-19 infection.

Instead, the supplemental staff will be “always in line of sight supervision of ‘blue smock’ CYP employee and not in ratio.”

Childcare providers who wear blue smocks or shirts indicate that background checks have been satisfactorily completed, according to CYP handbooks.

Those who typically wear red smocks or shirts have ongoing background checks and CYP professionals must be in the line of sight of an approved staff member at all times.

“The safety of our children is always our No. 1 priority. Although background checks on supplemental staff are being waived due to the current pandemic, they are at all times supervised or in line of sight by staff who have been vetted,” wrote CNIC spokeswoman Coleen R. San Nicolas-Perez in a prepared statement to Navy Times.

“These supplemental staff will focus only on cleaning efforts to increase sanitation standards. In addition, our personnel who care for our military’s children are committed to providing a service that have a direct and positive impact on our service members and families. It remains our goal to provide our fighters and families with the support they need to fulfill the Navy mission.”

School Liaison Officers also will be assigned to the facilities to supplement the ranks, according to the official list of changes.

CNIC’s measures will cancel or postpone all hourly programs or services for all children, newborns to age 12, except for those ruled “emergency/mission essential.” CNIC is ending all youth sports, youth and teen programs and field trips away from childcare facilities and no new enrollees will be accepted into the Navy-operated system unless they’re determined to be “emergency/mission essential.”

Sensory tables are being removed. Workers won’t brush children’s teeth and will now plate food for youths instead of letting then dine as a group.

Parents will be “required to self-care for own children at home” if they have Navy full-time telework agreements. The Navy will waive the parents’ fees and their children’s spaces will be saved until the pandemic ends.

Fees will be waived and spaces saved for other parents who voluntarily and temporarily withdraw their children for at least two weeks, or until May 1.

CNIC officials don’t know how many children and families will be affected by the new measures, largely because on unknown variables, such as the shifting number of families to opt to care for their kids at home or who must go into quarantine.

“However, we will continue to work with our service members, families and base leaders as we move forward together to overcome this pandemic,” said San Nicolas-Perez.

Despite the chidcare measures changing at CNIC facilities worldwide and the growing number of schools shuttered in the United States, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools in Japan continue to remain open.

That’s run in against the tide of other DoDEA schools around the world that have shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic.

DoDEA Pacific East Superintendent Judy Allen said Tuesday there have been no cases of coronavirus at any of the DoDEA schools in Japan, and any decision to cancel classes would be made in conjunction with U.S. Forces Japan and medical authorities.

“If we do change and do something differently, then certainly we’d look at virtual schooling,” Allen said during a Facebook live townhall event Tuesday. “We already have some plans in place in case we do have to close the schools of how we would be able to continue the education of our children.”

So far, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility has yet to record a positive case, and officials say they’re following the latest policies from both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Defense Department to protect the health of their personnel and the Kitsap County community.

“PSNS & IMF leadership continues to meet daily to evaluate the situation and assess the need for further action in coordination with Naval Sea Systems Command and U.S. Pacific Fleet,” wrote shipyard spokeswoman Meghan Henderson in a prepared statement to Navy Times.

“The health and safety of our workforce and community is — and always will be — the shipyard’s top priority,” she added. “The shipyard’s efforts and planning are focused on ensuring we are aligned with DoD guidance, implementing CDC recommendations and fulfilling our critical national security mission. We are working to keep the workforce informed. The health of our people is our primary concern.”

Officials told Navy Times on Tuesday that the tests were administered to personnel who work at the Bremerton site and the detachments at Bangor and Everett.

On Tuesday, U.S. Pacific Fleet officials announced that a sailor assigned to the guided-missile destroyer Ralph Johnson, which is homeported in Naval Station Everett, tested positive for the virus.

More than 14,400 civilians and 750 uniformed personnel work at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility sites, Henderson said.

Those who have been tested for coronavirus are barred from returning to the base and have been urged to isolate themselves in their homes while awaiting the results.

“We are closely and continuously evaluating the health of the workforce to ensure they are kept safe, while at the same time ensuring we meet mission requirements,” said Henderson. “For employees who show symptoms, we are directing them to their civilian care provider to ensure they are being assessed and cared for.”

The base has distributed 2,000 cleaning kits containing disinfecting solution, wipes, gloves and instructions on how to use them to combat the spread of disease.

Preserving the health of the workforce there is vital to national security. It’s the only shipyard on the West Coast that can make major repairs to aircraft carriers but it’s near the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Pacific Northwest.

Much of the base is in Kitsap County, and the Everett detachment is in Snohomish County, about 25 miles north of Seattle.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Snohomish Health District had confirmed 266 COVID-19 cases with another 21 patients listed as “probable” for the illness.

Health authorities reported 48 patients were isolated in their homes or long-term care facilities and another 48 hospitalized. They counted 97 cases under investigation. Although 88 patients had recovered, five died, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

As of Tuesday evening, the Kitsap Public Health District has counted seven confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“Navy childcare programs are critical for our service members serving both at home and abroad,” said Coleen R. San Nicolas-Perez, a spokeswoman for Commander, Navy Installations Command, in a prepared statement emailed to Navy Times.

“During the current COVID-19 crisis, we are adapting our Child and Youth Program (CYP) operations to meet both the Navy’s mission and family requirements while ensuring the children in our care and our professionals are healthy and safe.”

Perhaps most controversially, new measures waive the need for criminal background checks for “supplemental staffing” employees imported from other military programs for “increased cleaning/sanitation” designed to combat COVID-19 infection.

Instead, the supplemental staff will be “always in line of sight supervision of ‘blue smock’ CYP employee and not in ratio.”

Childcare providers who wear blue smocks or shirts indicate that background checks have been satisfactorily completed, according to CYP handbooks.

Those who typically wear red smocks or shirts have ongoing background checks and CYP professionals must be in the line of sight of an approved staff member at all times.

School Liaison Officers also will be assigned to the facilities to supplement the ranks, according to the list.

The latest move will cancel or postpone all programs and services that are not full-time childcare (newborns to age 12) until further notice. That means all hourly childcare is ending unless it’s deemed “emergency/mission essential,” according to the Navy.

CNIC will stop all youth sports, youth and teen programs and field trips away from Navy childcare facilities.

No new childcare enrollees will be accepted into Navy-operated programs unless they are determined to be “emergency/mission essential.”

Parents will be “required to self-care for own children at home” if they have Navy full-time telework agreements. The Navy will waive the parents’ fees and their children’s spaces will be saved until the pandemic ends.

Fees will be waived and spaces saved for other parents who voluntarily and temporarily withdraw their children for at least two weeks, or until May 1.

Staff training requirements and all teacher in-service days will stop or be postponed. Officials will enforce increased hand-washing and sanitation practices, such as cleaning door handles and hard surfaces.

The number of visitors will be reduced and CNIC will postpone all non-critical facility maintenance.

Family-style dining will end and staff will plate food for children. Staffers also will discontinue the practice of brushing children’s teeth and the use of sensory tables, according to the directive.

Of the two newest cases, one sailor is assigned to the littoral combat ship Coronado at Naval Base San Diego and the other reports to the guided-missile destroyer Ralph Johnson in Washington.

Coronado is tied up and undergoing routine maintenance and Ralph Johnson also is in port and not at sea.

Pentagon officials said the destroyer’s crew is busy disinfecting the warship.

“Given this case, Ralph Johnson is conducting extensive cleaning to mitigate further spread to the crew,” read a prepared statement from the Pentagon emailed to Navy Times.

Although Navy leaders shuttered a school house on Naval Base San Diego after a cluster of coronavirus cases emerged over the weekend linked to an instructor, a student from Naval Base Point Loma and another student off the amphibious warship Boxer, the Coronado patient is not believed to be tied to that outbreak.

It remains unclear how he contracted the disease.

Regardless of how they caught COVID-19, all three sailors from Boxer, Coronado and Ralph Johnson have been isolated from their crews and quarantined at their residences off base, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pentagon officials told Navy Times.

Military medical teams are tracing all individuals who have been in close contact with the trio. Anyone with close contact with them also has been placed into isolation with their movements restricted while they self-monitor for symptoms of the disease.

“Depending on the results of these investigations, additional precautionary measures may be taken,” U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Myers J. Vasquez told Navy Times.

Naval Station Everett abuts the largest city in Snohomish County, Everett, which is about 25 miles north of Seattle.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Snohomish Health District had confirmed 266 COVID-19 cases, with another 21 patients listed as “probable” for the illness.

Health authorities reported 48 patients were isolated in their homes or long-term care facilities and another 48 hospitalized. They counted 97 cases under investigation. Although 88 patients had recovered, five died, according to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office.

In San Diego County, health authorities reported 55 positive coronvirus cases as of Monday.

Medical investigators have linked all three cases to the schoolhouse, which is why it’s closed indefinitely.

On March 14, a sailor from the amphibious warship Boxer who was attending a course at Training Support Command tested positive for COVID-19, according to a prepared statement issued by Naval Education and Training Command.

He had been a student there since Feb. 6. He’s isolated at home, with his movement restricted, as are those who came into close contact with him, officials said.

The other two cases involve an instructor at the training center and an enlisted sailor assigned to Naval Base Point Loma who was a student in a course there.

The latter sailor showed no signs of the illness but was tested because of potential exposure at the schoolhouse and the results were positive for COVID-19.

The three sailors and all others who came into contact with them have been ordered to remain in their residences or quarters.

Although known for the warships that line its piers, Naval Base San Diego is also a major training site. Training Support Center San Diego, for example, is the central hub of support for Naval Education and Training Command efforts across the entire Pacific Rim, including instruction for surface warfare, submarine, security force, naval aviation and information warfare students.

“We’re taking the proper precautions,” said Pensacola-based Naval Education and Training Command spokesman Cmdr. James D. Stockman. “Anyone who tests positive, or who might have been exposed to someone with the virus, is in self-quarantine, with movement restrictions. We’re following the guidance and policy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

It remains unclear whether the entire support center is closing or if only selected portions of the program overseen by Naval Education and Training Command are suspended.

Stockman said that the order did not affect medical units, Naval Special Warfare or other commands in the region.

This is a breaking story and we’ll keep updating it.

That brings to three the number of sailors in San Diego County believed to have contracted COVID-19. The results are considered “presumptive positive” because they have not been certified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“If people suspect that they might have been in close contact with someone who was sick, or you are feeling sick, please speak to a medical provider and your chain of command,” said Navy Region Southwest spokesman Brian O’Rourke.

Quarantined off base, the latest patient is not assigned to one of the fast attack submarines homeported at Point Loma.

He was treated by Naval Medical Center San Diego personnel and his test conducted by the Naval Health Research Center.

He showed no symptoms before he tested positive, officials said. Investigators suspect his case is tied the first presumptive positive results for a sailor at Naval Base San Diego.

Although known for the warships that line its piers, Naval Base San Diego is also a major training site. Training Support Center San Diego is the central hub of support for Naval Education and Training Command efforts across the entire Pacific Rim, including instruction for surface warfare, submarine, security force, naval aviation and information warfare students.

Military medical workers are performing an ongoing contact investigation, tracing how the disease spread from patient to patient.

On Tuesday, investigators determined that Training Support Command is linked to a sailor on the amphibious warship Boxer who had attended a course there.

Those who have been exposed to all three sailors have been ordered to confine themselves to their residences or quarters and self-monitor for symptoms of coronavirus.

Depending on the results of the investigations, additional precautionary measures might be taken, officials added.

“Naval Base Point Loma is committed to taking every measure possible to protect the health of our force. We remain in close coordination with state and federal authorities, and public health authorities to ensure the well-being of our personnel and local population,” a prepared statement emailed to Navy Times said.

While O’Rourke could not discuss specific details about any of the cases, he told Navy Times that his region is implementing a series of escalating steps to stop the spread of the disease.

With San Diego schools and universities shuttered and restaurants closing as people try to avoid social contact amid a global pandemic, Navy leaders are prodding uniformed and civilian personnel to begin teleworking from home, shifting their schedules and staying out of cramped offices, O’Rourke said.

“Our goal at the base and throughout the region is to send as many people home as we can while still supporting the fleet, which is our primary mission,” he said.

Navy Times editor’s note: This story has been updated to show that investigators determined that at least two of the three San Diego County cases involving sailors are linked to the NETC schoolhouse at Naval Base San Diego.

An All Hands memo from yard commander Capt. Dianna Wolfson indicated that four other individuals there tested negative for COVID-19 infection.

Although Navy Times sent the command a list of questions, officials said they would be unable to answer them until Tuesday.

It remains unclear if the individuals are service members, civilian Department of Defense employees or contractors or whether any of the test results came back later on Monday.

It’s also unknown whether those who have been tested are isolated in their residences or quarters while self-monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19.

“PSNS & IMF leadership continues to meet daily to evaluate the situation and assess the need for further action in coordination with Naval Sea Systems Command and U.S. Pacific Fleet,” read a prepared statement from the command emailed to Navy Times on Monday evening.

“The health and safety of our workforce and community is – and always will be – the shipyard’s top priority. The shipyard’s efforts and planning are focused on ensuring we are aligned with DoD guidance, implementing (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations and fulfilling our critical national security mission. This has been a dynamic and quickly-changing environment, and we are working to keep the workforce informed. The health of our people is our primary concern.”

With more than 14,000 employees, the sprawling yard in Bremerton, Washington, repairs ships for the U.S. Pacific Fleet while a sister site, the Trident Refit Facility, is the largest command at Naval Base Kitsap – Bangor, about 18 miles away.

The Monday message did not indicate where the 14 individuals worked.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is the largest of the nation’s four public yards and is the only location on the West Coast that can make significant repairs to an aircraft carrier.

Preserving the health of the workforce there is vital to national security but Puget Sound is at the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak in the Pacific Northwest.

By Sunday afternoon, the Washington Department of Health had recorded 769 positive cases of COVID-19, including 42 deaths, the bulk of them in King County.

The shipyard’s Kitsap County is to the west of King County, separated by Puget Sound. Kitsap health authorities have counted only seven confirmed cases so far, plus 113 negative results.

“Unfortunately, we expect to see more cases of COVID-19 in our county in the coming days and weeks, especially as testing becomes more available,” Kitsap Public Health District Health Officer Dr. Susan Turner said in a prepared statement late Friday.

“We need to work together as a community to slow the spread of this illness and protect our neighbors who are most at risk. We are asking all Kitsap residents to stay calm, stay informed and take steps to protect their health and the health of those around them. It is very important to stay home when you are sick and we encourage community members to assist friends and family who may need to stay home.”

To combat the spread of coronavirus at the yard, Wolfson’s message indicated that 2,000 cleaning kits had been prepared for employees to disinfect their work spaces.

Following a travel ban instituted by the Pentagon late Friday, Wolfson wrote that officials will approve travel orders only projects considered important to the mission.

That means no travel will be approved for conferences or training through May 11, but commanders will okay travel that directly supports ship maintenance, such as the Japan-based aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan or its sister Nimitz-class flattop Abraham Lincoln, which made a homeport shift to Naval Air Station North Island on Jan. 20.

Service members are restricted to local leave, unless granted waivers by commanders.

Wolfson wrote that her command is urging those employees who can telework to do so while leaders explore alternative work schedules, like shift changes.

“This one is especially tough because the school closures just got announced fully on Friday,” she said. “As a command, we need to see where we stand with available workforce and go from there.”

On the other side of the country, Terri Davis, the spokesperson at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, told Navy Times that the installation has cancelled all non-mission events.

No one has tested positive for COVID-19 at the Hampton Roads yard, but officials did not know if anyone had been tested.

The shipyard is encouraging good hygiene and supervisors are increasing the number of inspections work spaces.

Work at the shipyard in the time of COVID-19 is an “extremely fluid situation,” she said.

The directive is designed to limit non-mission essential travel and comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to maintain social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Navy Operational Support Centers will remain open for those who need imminent mobilization and mission-essential help but “all regular drill weekends are postponed” through May 11, according to the message.

McCollum offered personnel to use “flexible reschedules, telework, and liberal authorized as directed by their unit leaders and/or supported command” to make up the lost drill dates.

McCollum’s command will provide guidance on “enhanced telecommuting procedures” to ease the strain on the reserve force and preserve force readiness.

Navy Reserve Activities have been directed to “liberally approve annual participation waivers based on the impact of COVID-19,” according to the message.

For reservists rotating back from countries designated as affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the directive orders personnel to remain at home or similar quarters for 14 days from their departure from the nation.

On Thursday, both Navy officials and state leaders in Maine announced that a reservist who recently returned from coronavirus-ravaged Italy had tested “presumptive positive” for the disease and had been quarantined at home.

Selected Reservists currently on orders to units nationwide will be allowed to complete their assignments but new travel orders will not be issued unless the personnel are deemed essential to the mission, according to the message.

Navy civilians with telework agreements are expected to continue with that arrangement “as much as practicable,” the directive orders.

Those without telework agreements are urged to complete the required training and sign a telework agreement with their supervisors as soon as possible.

The latest measures adopted by McCollum are likely to affect the bulk of the force’s 50,000 Selected Reservists.

A previous order issued Friday to postpone drill scheduled for March 14–15 was designed to give leaders time to research CDC guidance and then adapt the health policies to the reserve force.

This is a breaking story and Navy Times will continue updating it.

Tests conducted by the Navy or private, county or state clinics are considered “presumptive positive” until the results are confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The sailor was treated by Naval Medical Center San Diego personnel and is quarantined at home. Personnel believed to have been in close contact with the sailor also have been ordered into self-isolation at their residences or quarters for 14 days.

None of them is living on the warship, which is homeported at Naval Base San Diego. Boxer is not at sea.

The group is believed to be less than 10 sailors now, but military health workers continue to investigate whether any additional people have been exposed to COVID-19.

Depending on the results of that investigation, additional measures might be taken.

In a prepared statement issued by the Pentagon, officials said that the Boxer’s crew continues to take “appropriate preventative measures” and is “conducting a thorough cleaning,” following guidance from the CDC and the Virginia-based Navy-Marine Corps Public Health Center.

Although Navy Region Southwest announced Saturday that another sailor tested “presumptive positive” for the coronavirus, he is assigned to a tenant command that is not a warship.

Officials do not believe there is a connection between the two cases, but the investigation continues.

Vice Adm. Richard Brown — the Naval Surface Force commander for the U.S. Pacific Fleet — has vowed to take every measure possible to protect the force. Officials are closely coordinating with county, state and federal health authorities to protect personnel, their families and the local population, according to the statement.

Boxer’s crew assembled last month in the hangar bay to celebrate the vessel’s 25 birthday, but the sailor is believed to have contracted the disease several weeks after the event.

The San Diego County Public Health Office reported on Friday that 158 people were being monitored for potential exposure to COVID-19.

This is a breaking story and Navy Times will continue updating it.