US Navy evacuates over 80% of USS Theodore Roosevelt crew as nearly 600 carrier sailors test positive for coronavirus

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas V. Huynh

• The Navy revealed Sunday that nearly 600 sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for coronavirus.
• In its battle with the virus, the service has evacuated almost 4,000 sailors, more than 80 percent of the crew, airwing and embarked staffs ashore in Guam, where the carrier is in port.
• The carrier's former captain had pleaded with the Navy to remove the majority of the crew in response to the virus. He was relieved of his command after a letter he wrote leaked to the media.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The US Navy has evacuated the majority of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, aboard which hundreds of sailors have tested positive for the coronavirus.

In an update Sunday, the Navy revealed that 585 sailors have tested positive, and 3,967 sailors have been moved ashore in Guam, where the carrier is in port. Now, over 80 percent of the ship's roughly 4,800 crew, staff and squadrons are off the ship, which deployed in January. Some of the crew has to stay aboard to guard the ship and to maintain its two nuclear reactors.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: A podiatrist explains heel spurs, the medical condition Trump said earned him a medical deferment from Vietnam

See Also:

• Navy says there are zero active coronavirus cases aboard the USS Nimitz after Pentagon suggests otherwise
• A USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor with coronavirus was taken to the ICU as the number of cases on the aircraft carrier rises
• Lawmakers demand Trump's acting Navy secretary resign or be fired after he trashed an aircraft carrier captain to its crew

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2yVQUj4