US Navy evacuating 3,000 sailors from coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt
- Move follows desperate plea by ship’s commander, after dozens of crew members tested positive
- Officials seeking house personnel in hotel rooms or other facilities in Guam, where vessel is docked
The evacuation of sailors from the vessel began on Wednesday, a week after the first coronavirus case was reported on the aircraft carrier, and followed public disclosure of a scathing letter to Navy command from the ship’s captain urging “decisive action” to control the outbreak.
In his four-page letter, the contents of which were confirmed by US officials on Tuesday, Captain Brett Crozier described a bleak situation aboard the nuclear-powered carrier as more sailors tested positive for the virus.
The letter put the Pentagon on the defensive about whether it was doing enough to keep the Theodore Roosevelt’s 5,000 crew members safe, and alarmed the families of those aboard the vessel, whose home port is in San Diego.
In the letter, the captain called for more than 4,000 sailors to be removed from the ship and isolated, saying the Navy otherwise would be failing to properly safeguard “our most trusted asset – our sailors”.