US Navy captain says carrier faces dire coronavirus threat
01 April, 2020
The captain of the united states nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt told the Pentagon that new coronavirus is spreading uncontrollably through his ship and needed immediate help quarantine its crew.
But Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday ruled out evacuating the ship, whose plight bears similarities to that on civilian cruise lines where the COVID-19 illness spread.
Captain Brett Crozier wrote in a four-page letter that that they had not had the opportunity to stem the spread of COVID-19 through the 4,000 crewmembers, describing a dire situation aboard the vessel now docked at Guam, a US territory in the Pacific.
"We aren't at war. Sailors need not die," Crozier wrote, in line with the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA Chronicle, which published a copy of the letter on Tuesday.
"The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating," Crozier wrote, referring to the ship's "inherent limitations of space."
He asked to be able to quarantine nearly the entire crew onshore at Guam, saying keeping them all on board the ship was an "unnecessary risk."
There is little chance of "social distancing", which US civilians have already been told to apply, among the cramped passageways and sleeping quarters of an aircraft carrier.
"Removing nearly all personnel from a deployed US nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem as an extraordinary measure," he said. "That is a required risk."
Asked on the CBS Evening News whether it had been time for an evacuation, Esper said: I don't believe we're at that point."
He added that supplies and medical attention are being moved out to the Roosevelt.
"We're providing additional medical personnel because they need it."
He added that "do not require are seriously ill" and the Navy is "trying to make sure that we support the virus, that people deploy testing kits. We get a good assessment of just how much of the crew is infected."
Over 100 cases up to speed
The Chronicle said that a lot more than 100 aboard the warship had been confirmed infected with the new coronavirus, around four times the figures given last Friday.
Crozier asked in the letter for quarantine facilities for the entire crew on Guam.
The US Navy did not confirm the contents of the letter, that have been also reported by The New York Times.
In a statement, a Navy official under condition of anonymity said that Crozier had alerted his Pacific fleet leaders on Sunday of the problems aboard the carrier.
"The ship's commanding officer advocated for housing more members of the crew in facilities that allow for better isolation," the official said.
"Navy leadership is moving quickly to take all necessary measures to guarantee the health insurance and safety of the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt, and is pursuing options to handle the concerns raised by the commanding officer."
Vietnam port stop
Some speculated that the infection could have begun with a port stay in Vietnam by the Roosevelt.
The carrier devote to Da Nang port for five days in early March, when the virus was raging in China and greater than a dozen cases have been detected in Vietnam.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly told CNN Tuesday that he agreed with Crozier on the seriousness of the situation, and that they have been working in the last few days to move people from the Roosevelt.
However, he said, facilities to sequester the afflicted sailors in Guam, which hosts a significant US naval base, are limited.
"We are having to talk to the government there to see if we are able to get some hotel space, create some tent-type facilities there," Modly said.
In his letter published by the Chronicle, Crozier referred to a report about the Diamond Princess cruise liner which was quarantined off Japan earlier this season.
The study figured early evacuation of passengers and crew could have prevented many more infections. Ten passengers died and a lot more than 700 people who were up to speed contracted the virus.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
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