In a letter, the commander of the US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt sounded the alarm about the situation on the ship. More than a hundred of the nearly five thousand crew members have tested positive for the corona virus. US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Tuesday that he did not yet consider an evacuation of the crew members necessary.
“A political solution is needed,” said Captain Brett Crozier in the letter. He advocates measures to prevent the further spread of the virus to the USS Theodore Roosevelt. “We are not in a war, Marines do not have to die,” the commander argues.
According to the commander, it is impossible to keep a sufficient distance on the ship. A week ago, eight passengers had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. It has now spread and more than a hundred of them have contracted the virus.
Evacuation not yet necessary
United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper responded to local news channel CBS on Tuesday (local time). He says it’s not the right time to evacuate an American aircraft carrier because of the coronavirus outbreak. “I don’t think we’ve gotten to that point yet,” says Esper.
However, the Pentagon, the United States Department of Defense, is busy transporting resources and assistance to the ship. Additional medical personnel are also deployed where necessary. According to Esper, the goal is to limit the spread of the virus. None of the crew members are currently seriously ill.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt has been in the port of Guam, an American island in the Pacific Ocean, for a week. The ship left Vietnam three weeks ago. Before departure, the crew had been extensively tested for the corona virus.
Follow the latest developments around the virus in us live blog.
The coronavirus in short
- The coronavirus mainly spreads from person to person via sneezing and cough drops. The chance of becoming infected through surfaces such as door handles is small. This chance decreases if you wash your hands often.
- You can considerably reduce the chance of spreading by keeping at least 1.5 meters away from others.
- An infected person infects two to three others on average. Precautions are necessary to contain this.
- The vast majority of patients have mild (flu-like) complaints.
- Almost all deaths involve the elderly or other vulnerable persons, such as heart, lung or diabetes patients. If everyone complies with the measures, this reduces their risks.
- Read here what precautions you should take.
–
–
–
– .
