WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy said Tuesday that nearly all crewmembers assigned to the coronavirus-stricken USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier have been tested for the disease.
“As of today, 94% of USS Theodore Roosevelt crewmembers were tested for Covid-19, with 710 total positive and 3,872 negative results,” the service wrote in a release. Of the total cases, nine are currently being treated at the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam, 42 sailors have recovered and one sailor died. A significant number of the Roosevelt crew tested positive but displayed no symptoms.
Read more: US Navy sailor from coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier dies in Guam
The growing outbreak threatening the crew aboard the Roosevelt was foreshadowed in a leaked letter penned last month by the ship’s captain.
Capt. Brett Crozier urged senior military leaders in a four-page letter to take dramatic steps to safeguard the sailors aboard the Roosevelt.
“We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors,” Crozier wrote in the letter dated March 30. “The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating.”
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/21/nearly-entire-crew-of-coronavirus-stricken-aircraft-carrier-tested.html