Nearly 60% of USS Theodore Roosevelt sailors infected with coronavirus did not show any symptoms
Test results of the crew aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt have revealed that a majority of the positive cases are among sailors who did not show any symptoms.
Close to 60% of 600 sailors, who have tested positive, have not shown symptoms of COVID-19, suggest results that offer new insights into how the COVID-19 virus spreads asymptomatically. The finding that the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 can spread stealthily among a population of largely young, healthy people, who show no symptoms, could also have major implications for the US, which is looking at reopening the economy.
During an interview, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the number of asymptomatic cases from the carrier was “disconcerting.” “What we’ve found of the 600 or so that have been infected, what’s disconcerting is a majority of those, 350-plus, are asymptomatic. So it has revealed a new dynamic of this virus that it can be carried by normal, healthy people who have no idea whatsoever that they are carrying it,” Esper said during NBC’s 'Today Show'.
“So we’re learning a lesson there, and making sure that we communicate that to our broader force and we take every precaution we can to keep our force healthy and ready,” Esper said.
Surgeon General of the Navy, Rear Admiral Bruce L. Gillingham, said during a recent briefing that “with regard to COVID-19, we're learning that stealth in the form of asymptomatic transmission is this adversary's secret power.” “And so we recognize despite, you know, really our best efforts, we're going to have to learn how to learn to operate with the virus. So in coordination with our fleet commanders, we've developed a COVID-19 mitigation framework. The essence, the goal is to protect the force and, of course, to preserve our warfighting readiness,” he said.
Esper had earlier said during a briefing that “there are people who have tested positive—who are just moving around, so it could be—the same could apply for all of us. He added that right now, the key is expanding the test kits. The Department of Defense can currently conduct an estimated 9,000 tests a day, and they aim to ramp that up to about 60,000 tests.
Meanwhile, the Navy has launched an investigation into the outbreak on USS Theodore Roosevelt. The results of the investigation will inform medical professionals to facilitate better public health decision making for this ship and advise broader COVID-19 surveillance and mitigation strategies, says the Navy.
“As the US Navy continues to work to fully understand the outbreak onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy, and Marine Corps Public Health Center and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are planning to conduct a COVID-19 public health outbreak investigation with volunteers from the crew. Findings from the outbreak investigation will help the Navy plan for averting or minimizing future outbreaks and improve Fleet Surgeons’ understanding of this disease,” says a statement.
Volunteers will be asked to complete a short survey and provide two specimens for laboratory testing. “The outbreak investigation is a standard part of our public health response for an infectious disease event aboard one of our ships. This is a stealthy virus in many ways and this outbreak investigation is an important medical weapon to understand its behavior so that we can better protect the crew, their shipmates on other vessels and ultimately the nation,” said Gillingham.
As of April 21, more than 787,900 cases of the new coronavius have been confirmed from across the US and over 42,360 have died in the COVID-19 pandemic, shows the Johns Hopkins tracker.