A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier's captain is asking for help as the coronavirus spreads aboard his ship and outlines a grim condition in a letter dated Monday as seeing more sailors testing positive.
In a four-page letter, first published by the San Francisco Chronicle, Capt. Brett Crozier of the USS Theodore Roosevelt revealed a catastrophic situation aboard the warship, a temporary home for more than 4,000 sailors.
"We are not at war. Sailors need not die. If we don't act now, we don't take good care of our most important asset - our sailors," Crozier wrote. The captain said the spread of the virus is "ongoing and accelerating."
In the unaddressed letter, Crozier proposed that most of the 4,000 crew members should be removed from the ship and placed in 14-day individual quarantines, in line with approved infection prevention guidelines by the CDC.
Ten percent should remain onboard to sanitize the carrier and operate the reactor, which he called a "necessary risk." He argued that it was the right thing to do in peacetime.
A week ago, the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt was in the Pacific when the navy confirmed their first case of coronavirus. Since then, it has pulled to port in Guam, a western Pacific island territory in the US.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that about 80 people on board the ship had screened the coronavirus positively, a number expected to rise when all ship staff are checked.
Nevertheless, the navy refused to reveal precisely how many men were contaminated onboard the Roosevelt. The navy places the complement to the ship at 5,000, which is the equivalent of a small American town.
Meanwhile, Admiral J.C. Aquilino, United States Commander Pacific Fleet, told reporters Tuesday evening that going as fast as Crozier wanted is not possible.
There are some limitations under which they work, he said, pointing out that he is in communication with Guam's governor about allocating hotel rooms where sailors can be accommodated until they are cleared to return.
Asked if the aircraft carrier would be evacuated, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Tuesday evening, "I don't think we are at that point."
According to the Defense secretary, they are trying to make sure to contain the virus: "We are shipping out test kits to get a clear estimate of how many crew are contaminated," Esper told CBS News.
