Some 51 out of 186 crew members of a European Union naval vessel have tested positive for the coronavirus, Reuters reported, quoting a statement by the EU's Irini military mission. The statement added the infections were discovered following routine testing.

The Margottini frigate is docked in the southern Italian port of Augusta for logistic reasons after 15 days of activity at sea, the statement said. The majority of those who tested positive were Italian nationals.

Irini said it would now repeat the test for all the personnel on board to check whether there were even more infections.