The US Navy has ordered the evacuation of thousands of sailors from the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier at Guam's Pacific base, after its captain warned that an outbreak of the Corona virus on board was threatening the life of the crew.
With dozens of "Covid-19" injuries discovered among sailors, a senior US official said the Navy had rushed to book rooms in hotels on Guam Island for many of the more than 4,000 crew members, while a team of uninfected sailors was being prepared. To keep the ship running.
Pentagon officials have acknowledged that Roosevelt's plight is a challenge to military readiness, noting that US forces are facing the epidemic around the world to the same extent.
"The plan at this time is to evacuate as many people as possible from aboard Roosevelt, knowing that we must leave a certain number of people on board to perform the normal observation duties that keep the ship in operation," Admiral John Menoni, Marianas district commander, told reporters in Guam on Wednesday. ".
Earlier this week, Roosevelt carrier captain Brett Crozier told the Pentagon that the new Corona virus was spreading in an uncontrollable manner aboard his ship, calling for immediate assistance to isolate his crew.
The channel published excerpts of the distress message in which Crozier said, "We are not at war, and our sailors should not die, if we do not act now and quickly, and if we do not take the necessary emergency measures, there will be a disaster."
Croisier did not specify the number of those injured on the aircraft carrier, and the Navy does not announce numbers for security reasons, but an official said that the number of those injured was less than 100, which was reported in the American media.
On Tuesday evening, US Defense Secretary Mark Esber said that the Navy is not ready to evacuate the carrier, and that things are not as bad as is rumored, according to the same source.