Crew member on California hospital ship USNS Mercy tests positive for coronavirus

The USNS Mercy is docked at the Port of Los Angeles.(Mark J. Terrill/AP)

An unidentified crew member aboard the USNS Mercy, the 1,000-bed Navy hospital ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles, has tested positive for coronavirus.

The crew member has been isolated and will be transferred to an off-ship isolation facility, where he or she will self-monitor for severe symptoms, according to the East Bay Times.

It’s unclear how the patient contracted COVID-19 or whether it was spread.

“When someone tests positive there is an investigation about where they could have gotten it and if they’ve been in contact with anyone else,” Lt. Joe Pfaff, a spokesman for the Mercy, told the newspaper late Wednesday. “That is going on right now.”

The Navy did not immediately return a request for comment.

The USNS Mercy arrived in Los Angeles in late March and is intended to treat non-coronavirus patients, freeing up local hospitals. So far, 30 patients have been treated there, according to the East Bay Times.

The positive test is not expected to affect operations on the ship, officials said.