Two Royal Navy sailors 'die from coronavirus'

The deaths are reportedly the first ones to happen in the Armed Forces.

The Sun reports that the Ministry of Defence confirmed the Royal Navy sailors were not at sea when they fell ill.

Armed Forces personnel have been helping with the coronavirus response effort across the country.

A Freedom of Information request revealed that two Royal Navy sailors died between March 1 and April 16, they have not been named.

It also showed that 121 service personnel including 58 from the army, 34 from the navy and 29 from the RAF, had fallen ill with Covid-19 during that time frame.

SEE ALSO: Desperate plea launched to raise £75k to save last D-Day landing craft tank after coronavirus delays

Two sailors from HMS Queen Elizabeth’s crew tested positive for Covid-19 during the round of testing that took place in April, before she department Portsmouth.

All of its 700-strong crew were tested for the virus and it delayed the departure of the 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier until the start of May.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.