Coronavirus: 100 infected sailors to be evacuated from USS Theodore Roosevelt after captain's heartbreaking plea
A week after at least 25 positive cases of coronavirus were identified onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of the US’ 11 aircraft carriers, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has said some sailors from the warship will be evacuated. The ship has remained docked in Guam after the virus spread among the crew numbering more than 4,000. The cases have reportedly quadrupled from 25 to 100 since Friday, March 27.
On Tuesday, March 31, Modly told CNN the Navy was working with the ship’s captain, medical officer and the government of Guam to bring some of the sailors to the shore as fast as possible. It was though not clear whether Modly was talking about all the sick sailors or the majority of the crew members. Later on the same day, Defense Secretary Mark Esper clarified to CBS News that the entire crew was not to be brought ashore for the warship will need to remain prepared to defend the country if required.
Brett Cozier, the captain of the ship, made an unusual plea for help from the Navy on Monday, March 30, to isolate his entire crew to avoid deaths in fast deteriorating conditions. Crozier’s plea came in a letter that was received exclusively by the San Francisco Chronicle and confirmed by a senior official on-board USS Theodore Roosevelt.
“This will require a political solution but it is the right thing to do,” Crozier wrote in his four-page letter. “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.”
He added that only a small section of the infected sailors had been off-boarded and it was not possible to follow the instructions of social distancing among the majority of the crew on the ship. “Due to a warship’s inherent limitations of space, we are not doing this,” Crozier wrote. “The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating.” The captain sought “compliant quarantine rooms” in Guam for the entire crew as soon as possible.
Top defense officials not for complete evacuation
Esper remarked after Crozier’s plea, saying “I don’t think we’re at that point”. He said this when questioned about the possibility of evacuating the entire war vessel.
“We are moving a lot of supplies and assistance, medical assistance, out to the carrier in Guam. We are providing additional medical personnel as they need it. I am pleased to report that none of them are seriously ill,” he added.
“At this point in time, we are trying to make sure that we contain the virus, that we deploy testing kits, and we get a good assessment of how much of the crew is infected. And then, of course, taking other measures to ensure that we can get the carrier up and ready again to continue its mission,” the defense secretary added.
Modly backed Esper’s remarks saying a small staff needed to remain on board to ensure the country’s defense line was still prepared. He told MSNBC that 1,000 crew members have already been evacuated and more sailors, who were coming off the ship, were being treated.
In his talks to CNN, Modly said: "It is a balancing act and we’re working very hard to make that balance acceptable."
Two of the US' 11 aircraft-carriers -- USS Harry S Truman and USS Dwight D Eisenhower -- are currently deployed in the Middle East while the rest are docked in various ports. USS Ronald Reagan is currently docked in Tokyo, reported the Daily Mail.