A sailor from the USS Theodore Roosevelt has been moved to a hospital’s intensive care unit after testing positive for the coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases aboard the aircraft carrier climbed to more than 400, a Navy official confirmed Thursday.
The sailor, who has not been identified, was found unresponsive and was admitted to a hospital in Guam, where the aircraft carrier is currently stationed, CNN reported citing a Navy official.
The individual is one of 416 people from the Navy ship to have tested positive for the virus. None of the other crew members ― close to 5,000 ― have been hospitalized as of Thursday, an official told HuffPost.
News of the hospitalization follows Tuesday’s resignation of Thomas Modly as acting U.S. Navy secretary after he publicly criticized the ship’s former captain, who was ousted after expressing concern about COVID-19 cases on the ship.
“The spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating,” Capt. Brett Crozier said in a letter that was leaked to the media. “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die.”
Modly called Crozier, who has also since tested positive for the virus, “stupid” and “naive” in a speech to the ship’s crew on Monday. He later retracted those remarks and issued an apology after his comments were leaked to the press.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended Crozier’s ouster on Sunday and waved off concerns about confirmed cases on the ship, which have since more than doubled.
“I’m pleased to report that over half of the ship has been tested and only 155 sailors have come up positive. Those [cases] are all mild and moderate. There have been no hospitalizations whatsoever,” he said on CNN.
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