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The captain of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, where multiple sailors have fallen ill with COVID-19, has pleaded with U.S. Navy officials for on-shore quarantines for the entire crew.
In the carrier’s close quarters, it is impossible to comply with isolation guidelines and “the spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating,” Capt. Brett Crozier wrote in a letter reportedly obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.
The newspaper said the authenticity of the letter had been confirmed by a senior officer aboard the warship. The Navy did not immediately return a request for comment.
COVID-19 cases aboard the nuclear-powered warship surfaced last week. The ship has instituted “limited measures” to contain the illness, but that will only slow down the spread, Crozier wrote.
Maintaining social-distancing guidelines is virtually impossible as “the environment most conducive to spread of the disease is the environment the crew of the [Theodore Roosevelt] is in right now, both aboard ship and ashore,” the captain wrote, going on to describe how large amounts of sailors are in confined spaces; share berthing, restrooms, work spaces and mess halls; and where mandatory watch and operational tasks demand “consistent close contact.”
“Decisive action is required,” Crozier wrote. About 10% of the crew would have to stay aboard for upkeep and response to emergencies, he said.
“Keeping over 4,000 young men and women on board the TR is an unnecessary risk and breaks faith with those sailors entrusted to our care,” Crozier wrote. He acknowledged “challenges” with securing CDC-compliant lodgings for the crew, but that’s “the right thing to do.”
“We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset, our sailors,” Crozier wrote.
The Navy had acknowledged additional COVID-19 cases aboard the carrier, which was on Guam for a previously scheduled port visit, on Thursday.
“We are taking this threat very seriously and are working quickly to identify and isolate positive cases while preventing further spread of the virus aboard the ship,” the Navy said then. It expected sailors who tested positive to be taken to Guam’s naval hospital.
