HMS Queen Elizabeth returns from exercises following Covid outbreak
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Big Lizzie is back in business: Royal Navy’s £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth gives sunworshippers a show on its way back from exercises following Covid outbreak
- The 65,000-tonne, £3.1 billion vessel had to postpone exercises last week after a Covid-19 outbreak on board
- Seven of its crew tested positive and around 100 were forced to isolate after being in contact with each other
- Crowds in Portsmouth gathered as she returned on Sunday to pick up supplies ahead of exercises
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Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has returned to Portsmouth from exercises after seven of its crew tested positive for Covid-19.
The 65,000-tonne, £3.1 billion vessel had been set to leave the city on Monday, but her sailing was pushed back after the outbreak.
Around 100 further members of crew were isolating onboard because they had been in contact with positive cases.
On Sunday, crowds gathered to watch the impressive carrier as it returned to the naval city.
It was picking up supplies ahead of sailing for further exercises to prepare it for Carrier Strike Group readiness ahead of its first operational deployment next year.
It was the second time the carrier has had to postpone its sailing after two crew members tested positive for Covid-19 in April.
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has returned to Portsmouth from exercises after seven of its crew tested positive for Covid-19
The 65,000-tonne, £3.1 billion vessel had been set to leave the city on Monday, but her sailing was pushed back after the outbreak
Around 100 further members of crew were isolating onboard because they had been in contact with positive cases
On Sunday, crowds gathered to watch the impressive carrier as it returned to the naval city after it left for exercises
It was picking up supplies ahead of sailing for further exercises to prepare it for Carrier Strike Group readiness ahead of its first operational deployment next year
It was the second time the carrier has had to postpone its sailing after two crew members tested positive for Covid-19 in April
Following brief training exercises at sea, the aircraft carrier is returning for less than a week to collect supplies ahead of trialling F-35B jets
A Ministry of Defence spokesman confirmed that ‘fewer than 10’ members of the 1,000-strong crew had tested positive for the coronavirus and had been taken ashore to be put into isolation in barracks
It is aiming to declare strike carrier capability later this year ahead of its first operational deployment in 2021
A number of British and American F-35B stealth jets will also be onboard the aircraft carrier in the largest cohort of jets seen on a British warship in more than a decade
The Queen Elizabeth is due to deploy on her first operational mission early next year, which will she her travelling across the world
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