"Stick to the ‘chain of command’! Pentagon rejects aircraft carrier captain’s plea to save crew as 100+ sailors contract Covid-19."
1 Apr, 2020.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper said it was too soon to evacuate an aircraft carrier where over 100 sailors were infected with Covid-19,
despite the unusual plea by the ship’s captain to quarantine the entire crew.
Asked about removing over 4,000 sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt – the first US warship on deployment to report an outbreak of the lethal virus –
Esper said it was premature, stating “I don’t think we’re at that point.”
“We're moving a lot of supplies and assistance, medical assistance, out to the carrier in Guam.
We're providing additional medical personnel as they need it,” Esper told CBS News in an interview on Tuesday, adding that none of the sailors were seriously ill.
The Roosevelt was effectively taken out of commission last week, after several dozen crewmen contracted Covid-19,
forcing the ship to divert from its mission in the South China Sea and dock at Guam, where all personnel on board received screenings for the virus.
More than 100 ultimately tested positive.
