USS Roosevelt sailor dies after battling COVID-19
A U.S. Navy sailor assigned to the USS Roosevelt has died from coronavirus.
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A U.S. sailor who was admitted to the intensive care unit at a Navy hospital in Guam after contracting the coronavirus has died, Navy officials said Monday.
The sailor, who was admitted into the ICU at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam on April 9, is the first active-duty service member to die from COVID-19. The Navy is withholding the sailor's name until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification.
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"We mourn the loss of the Sailor from USS Theodore Roosevelt who died today, and we stand alongside their family, loved ones, and shipmates as they grieve," said CNO Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. "This is a great loss for the ship and for our Navy."
"My deepest sympathy goes out the family, and we pledge our full support to the ship and crew as they continue their fight against the coronavirus," Gilday continued. "While our ships, submarines and aircraft are made of steel, Sailors are the real strength of our Navy."
The sailor tested positive for coronavirus on March 30, three days after the carrier docked in the Western Pacific island. They were removed from the ship and put in an isolation house on Naval Base Guam with four other sailors assigned to the vessel, the Navy said.
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Medical checks were carried out twice daily on the sailors in isolation. During a check on April 9, the sailor was found unresponsive. Emergency responders performed CPR and transferred the sailor to the Naval hospital's ICU. The sailor died four days later, on April 13.
"The entire Department is deeply saddened by the loss of our first active duty member to COVID-19," Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said. "Our thoughts are with the family of the USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor who lost his battle with the virus today. We remain committed to protecting our personnel and their families while continuing to assist in defeating this outbreak."
The Navy said that nearly 4,000 sailors from a crew of roughly 4,800 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have been moved ashore in Guam. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)
The USS Theodore Roosevelt has now been in Guam for over two weeks since first docking on March 27. The stop was only supposed to last a week.
As of Sunday, 585 sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier have now tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Navy. Nearly 4,000 sailors have been moved ashore in Guam, leaving roughly 800 to keep watch over two nuclear reactors, jets, missiles and bombs on board.
Hundreds of sailors have been placed in quarantine in Guam's hotels, fueling anxieties on the Pacific island.
As many as 10 hotels have been set aside to house up to 4,000 sailors should the need arise, while other guests have been moved to smaller properties, said Mary Rhodes, the president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association.
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The coronavirus outbreak aboard the ship began unfolding in late March. The carrier's commander, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, sent out a letter urging faster action to protect his sailors, which created controversy among Navy leadership.
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly relieved Crozier of duty after circulating the memo to Navy leaders. He further chastised him during a speech aboard the ship in Guam, saying Crozier was either "too naive or too stupid" to be in charge.
Modly resigned last week after facing blowback and publicly apologizing for his comments.
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Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson, Jeniffer Griffin and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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