Three sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the U.S. Navy reported Monday, less than a year after a major outbreak on the ship left it stationed in Guam for nearly two months.
The Navy reported that none of the three crew members had developed symptoms, and that they and others who were exposed are isolated on the aircraft carrier, which is conducting operations in the Pacific Ocean. Sailors tested positive Sunday.
In a statement, the Navy said that it is “following an aggressive mitigation strategy”, which includes the use of masks, social distancing and adequate hygiene measures.
“The United States Pacific Fleet is committed to taking all possible measures to protect the health of our personnel,” the fleet said in the statement.
Last year’s outbreak on the aircraft carrier is the largest the Navy has had to date, with more than 1,000 seafarers infected. One crew member died. Eventually, the 4,800 crew members were staggered ashore on Guam to be quarantined, keeping enough seafarers on the ship to keep it safe and working.
Mishandling of the outbreak by the ship’s top brass morphed into one of the Navy’s biggest leadership crises in recent years. The captain of the aircraft carrier, who called for swift action to protect his crew from the virus, was fired, and the promotion of the ship’s rear admiral was postponed.
Admiral Mike Gilday, the director of naval operations, concluded after an extensive review that both men made serious errors of judgment.
The carrier returned to service about three months after it docked in Guam and then returned home to the west coast of the United States. Other vessels that were on their way or in their home ports in the last year have had fewer positive cases among the crew, but none have registered a large outbreak.
The Roosevelt has been deployed to the Pacific in recent weeks, and a week ago conducted joint exercises with the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which will return to the west coast after a long deployment to the Middle East.
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