USS Roosevelt now with 416 cases of Covid-19 & more testing underway
Yesterday from CBS News;In response to:
USS Theodore Roosevelt now has 416 coronavirus cases in wake of captain's firing
By Audrey McNamara
April 9, 2020 / 3:55 PM / CBS News
USS Theodore Roosevelt now has 416 coronavirus cases in wake of captain's firing
By Audrey McNamara
April 9, 2020 / 3:55 PM / CBS News
The U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday that 416 crew members onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier docked in Guam, have now tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases jumped by 130 people in one day with more than 1,000 tests still pending.
On Wednesday, the Navy released a statement that said 93% of the crew had been tested for COVID-19 (changed to 92% today), the disease caused by the coronavirus, resulting in 2,588 negative and 286 positive results. Over 2,000 sailors on the ship were subsequently moved to a base on the island, which is a U.S. territory.
"As testing continues, the ship will keep enough Sailors on board to sustain essential services and sanitize the ship in port. There have been zero hospitalizations," the Navy said Wednesday. The next day, one sailor was transferred to a hospital and put under intensive care, according to the Navy.
Pentagon officials warned Thursday that the ship's outbreak will not be an isolated incident for the Navy, The Associated Press reports. "It's not a good idea to think that the Teddy Roosevelt is a one-of-a-kind issue," said General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We have too many ships at sea. ... To think that it will never happen again is not a good way to plan."
The USS Roosevelt still has 1,164 pending coronavirus tests, according to Hyten.
USS Theodore Roosevelt now has 416 coronavirus cases in wake of captain's firing
By Audrey McNamara
April 9, 2020 / 3:55 PM / CBS News
The U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday that 416 crew members onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier docked in Guam, have now tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases jumped by 130 people in one day with more than 1,000 tests still pending.
On Wednesday, the Navy released a statement that said 93% of the crew had been tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, resulting in 2,588 negative and 286 positive results. Over 2,000 sailors on the ship were subsequently moved to a base on the island, which is a U.S. territory.
"As testing continues, the ship will keep enough Sailors on board to sustain essential services and sanitize the ship in port. There have been zero hospitalizations," the Navy said Wednesday. The next day, one sailor was transferred to a hospital and put under intensive care, according to the Navy.
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Pentagon officials warned Thursday that the ship's outbreak will not be an isolated incident for the Navy, The Associated Press reports. "It's not a good idea to think that the Teddy Roosevelt is a one-of-a-kind issue," said General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We have too many ships at sea. ... To think that it will never happen again is not a good way to plan."
The USS Roosevelt still has 1,164 pending coronavirus tests, according to Hyten.
At the same briefing, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist told reporters the Defense Department understands that the coronavirus could be a long-term problem in the military, and said that some ships may have to quarantine before they deploy.
"We're going to need to change and adapt because even over the coming months, the virus isn't going to go away," Norquist said.
USS Theodore Roosevelt now has 416 coronavirus cases in wake of captain's firing
By Audrey McNamara
April 9, 2020 / 3:55 PM / CBS News
USS Theodore Roosevelt now has 416 coronavirus cases in wake of captain's firing
By Audrey McNamara
April 9, 2020 / 3:55 PM / CBS News
The U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday that 416 crew members onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier docked in Guam, have now tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases jumped by 130 people in one day with more than 1,000 tests still pending.
On Wednesday, the Navy released a statement that said 93% of the crew had been tested for COVID-19 (changed to 92% today), the disease caused by the coronavirus, resulting in 2,588 negative and 286 positive results. Over 2,000 sailors on the ship were subsequently moved to a base on the island, which is a U.S. territory.
"As testing continues, the ship will keep enough Sailors on board to sustain essential services and sanitize the ship in port. There have been zero hospitalizations," the Navy said Wednesday. The next day, one sailor was transferred to a hospital and put under intensive care, according to the Navy.
Pentagon officials warned Thursday that the ship's outbreak will not be an isolated incident for the Navy, The Associated Press reports. "It's not a good idea to think that the Teddy Roosevelt is a one-of-a-kind issue," said General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We have too many ships at sea. ... To think that it will never happen again is not a good way to plan."
The USS Roosevelt still has 1,164 pending coronavirus tests, according to Hyten.
USS Theodore Roosevelt now has 416 coronavirus cases in wake of captain's firing
By Audrey McNamara
April 9, 2020 / 3:55 PM / CBS News
The U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday that 416 crew members onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier docked in Guam, have now tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases jumped by 130 people in one day with more than 1,000 tests still pending.
On Wednesday, the Navy released a statement that said 93% of the crew had been tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, resulting in 2,588 negative and 286 positive results. Over 2,000 sailors on the ship were subsequently moved to a base on the island, which is a U.S. territory.
"As testing continues, the ship will keep enough Sailors on board to sustain essential services and sanitize the ship in port. There have been zero hospitalizations," the Navy said Wednesday. The next day, one sailor was transferred to a hospital and put under intensive care, according to the Navy.
Coronavirus: The Race To Respond ›
Grandparents hold wedding over Zoom
Coronavirus updates: COVID-19 death toll tops 18,000 in U.S.
Abortion is banned in Texas, again
15-year-old boy from Amazon tribe dies of coronavirus
More in Coronavirus: The Race To Respond
Pentagon officials warned Thursday that the ship's outbreak will not be an isolated incident for the Navy, The Associated Press reports. "It's not a good idea to think that the Teddy Roosevelt is a one-of-a-kind issue," said General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We have too many ships at sea. ... To think that it will never happen again is not a good way to plan."
The USS Roosevelt still has 1,164 pending coronavirus tests, according to Hyten.
At the same briefing, Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist told reporters the Defense Department understands that the coronavirus could be a long-term problem in the military, and said that some ships may have to quarantine before they deploy.
"We're going to need to change and adapt because even over the coming months, the virus isn't going to go away," Norquist said.
(continued in my first comment below)
Comments (7)
. "We're going to have to be able to operate in a COVID environment."
The situation on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt first gained attention after its captain, Brett Crozier, went outside his chain of command and sent a memo to more than 20 people pleading for help, and describing the carrier's dire conditions — when only dozens of sailors had tested positive. That memo quickly made its way to The San Francisco Chronicle, which first reported the story on March 31.
In his memo, Crozier suggested that most of the 4,000 crew members on board should be removed from the ship and put into 14-day individual quarantines, in keeping with the CDC's recommended guidelines for preventing infection. "We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die," he wrote. "If we do not act now, we are failing to take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors."
Crozier was later relieved of his command by the Navy. Acting secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly, said he fired Crozier after losing confidence in his ability to lead under the stress of dealing with the viral outbreak. Modly went on to harshly criticize Crozier in front of his crew.
In an address obtained by The Chronicle and the website Task & Purpose, Modly can be heard telling sailors that Crozier was either "too naive or too stupid" to lead the ship if he thought an alarming memo he circulated wouldn't become public.
However, Modly submitted his resignation on Tuesday, one day after the recording of him disparaging the ousted captain became public.
Crozier's crew cheered him as he left the ship after being fired.
my county has 994 positives and 21 dead.
The reason he got fired, was that he wrote about 20 letters in an effort to get help for his crew, many of who were infected, and some letters got leaked to the press. He put his neck on the chopping block in order to get his crew help. The person who fired him subsequently went to the ship in an effort to chastise the ex-captain and his crew, which did not go over very well. Thus, he resigned.
There is now some talk about reinstating the captain.
Hopefully, they won't end up the same.
From CNN;
Navy recommends reinstating commander of USS Theodore Roosevelt
By Ryan Browne and Barbara Starr, CNN
Updated 6:18 PM ET, Fri April 24, 2020
Washington (CNN)The Navy recommended to Defense Secretary Mark Esper that Capt. Brett Crozier be restored to command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier on Friday, according to an administration official.
Esper was not prepared to immediately accept the recommendation from Admiral Michael Gilday, the Chief of Naval Operations after being briefed on the investigation into the circumstances around Crozier's removal, telling top Navy officials he wanted more time to review their recommendations, two defense officials told CNN.
The defense officials told CNN that the Navy intended to announce its recommendation at a press conference Friday afternoon but it was canceled after Esper did not immediately endorse it.
They added that the expectation had been Esper would accept the recommendation.
The New York Times was first to report the decision.
The Navy's recommendation is just the latest development in the ongoing saga involving the outbreak aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, developments that have included a dire warning about the spread of the pandemic, the ouster of the ship's commanding officer and the resignation of the Navy's top civilian official over his handling of the affair.
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee called on Esper to reinstate Crozier.
"The Secretary of Defense needs to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier as commanding officer of the USS Theodore Roosevelt," Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state said in a statement Friday.
"While Captain Crozier's actions at the outset of the health crisis aboard the TR were drastic and imperfect, it is clear he only took such steps to protect his crew," Smith said, adding, "Crozier should be reinstated to his command immediately."
After news of the Navy's recommendation was reported, the Pentagon issued a statement saying that Esper had been briefed on the investigation but had not yet endorsed the Navy's recommendations.
"This afternoon, Secretary Esper received a verbal update from the acting Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on the Navy's preliminary inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said.
"After the Secretary receives a written copy of the completed inquiry, he intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with Navy leadership to discuss next steps," Hoffman added.
Earlier on Friday Hoffman told reporters that Esper "is generally inclined to support Navy leadership and their decisions but he will go into it with an open mind," saying he expected to provide the press with "an update on what the investigation's conclusions were" following Friday's meeting between Esper and the Navy leadership.
The Navy later issued a statement saying that "Gilday has presented recommendations to the Acting Secretary of the Navy James McPherson," and that McPherson "is continuing discussions" with Esper.
"No final decisions have been made," the statement added.
A Defense Department official told CNN that "the Navy's inquiry covered a complex timeline of communications between naval officers, as well as response efforts spanning a dozen time zones and multiple commands."
"All this information was briefed verbally today in a meeting scheduled for one hour. Given the importance of the topic and the complex nature, the secretary is going to read the full written report," the official added.
Asked if top lawmakers on the House and Senate Armed Services committees have been notified of the Navy's recommendation, a Senate aide said they were expecting individual calls Friday from the Navy and Esper but that those calls were postponed, then canceled and ultimately rescheduled for next week.
Crozier was fired earlier this month for what the then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said was poor judgment by too widely disseminating a warning about the spread of virus aboard his vessel, a warning that eventually made its way into the press.
Modly resigned days later over his handling of the incident, actions which included a $240,000 trip to Guam where he slammed Crozier and admonished sailors for giving Crozier a rousing send off in public remarks to the crew.
While Modly publicly accused Crozier of sending his letter of warning to 20 to 30 people, the email to which the letter was attached shows that Crozier sent it to 10 people including his direct superior, according to a copy of the email obtained by The Washington Post.
"I believe if there is ever a time to ask for help it is now regardless of the impact on my career," Crozier wrote in his email, the contents of which a US official directly familiar with the message confirmed to CNN.
The email was addressed to Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, the commander of the carrier strike group of which the USS Theodore Roosevelt is a component and Crozier's immediate commanding officer.
The email was also addressed to Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of US Pacific Fleet; and Vice Adm. DeWolfe Miller, another senior officer in the Pacific responsible for overseeing Naval Air Forces.
The message was also copied to seven Navy captains, all of whom were either serving aboard the aircraft carrier or working as aides to the admirals addressed in the email.
Following his ouster Crozier was initially reassigned to the headquarters of the Naval Air Forces Pacific command in San Diego but has remained in Guam where he is completing a mandatory quarantine period.
After he was fired Crozier was replaced as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier by the ship's former captain, Rear Admiral select Carlos Sardiello.
Cases on ship have skyrocketed
The number of coronavirus cases aboard the Roosevelt have skyrocketed in recent days, with 856 sailors testing positive as of Friday, and four sailors have been hospitalized in Guam where they are being treated for coronavirus symptoms.
One sailor from the aircraft carrier has died due to contracting the virus.
The Navy has evacuated more than 4,200 sailors from the ship, representing more than 85% of the Roosevelt's crew, and moved them into quarantine or isolation on Guam, an evacuation that was urgently called for by Crozier in his letter.
On Friday morning, a US Navy official told CNN that a second US warship had been hit by an outbreak of at least 18 cases of the virus.
The Pentagon later confirmed that there has been an outbreak on the USS Kidd which has a crew of around 330.
On Wednesday another senior Navy official told CNN there were coronavirus cases on 26 Navy warships, and another 14 have been hit by the virus but the crew members impacted have recovered.