• Live.Coronavirus, latest news
  • Pandemic.A sailor from the US aircraft carrier dies of coronavirus
  • Protagonists of the coronavirus.Brett Crozier, the captain of the disgraced aircraft carrier who was inspired by Tom Cruise

Extensive testing of the entire crew of the US aircraft carrier affected by the coronavirus, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, may have revealed a clue to the pandemic: Most of the positive cases so far are from asymptomatic sailors , authorities say.

The possibility of the coronavirus spreading stealthily among a population of largely young , healthy people who are showing no symptoms could have important implications for policymakers in the United States, who are debating how and when to reopen the economy.

The discovery renews doubts about whether testing only those suspected of being infected really shows the spread of the virus in the US and around the world.

Approximately 60 percent of the more than 600 sailors who tested positive have shown no symptoms of Covid-19, the life-threatening respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, according to the Navy.

The tests carried out by the US Navy on the entire crew of the aircraft carrier - 4,800 members - are 94% complete. This is an extraordinary decision in a case that grabbed the headlines, causing the Theodore Roosevelt's captain to be fired and the Navy secretary-in-office to resign later.

"With respect to COVID-19, we are learning that stealth in the form of asymptomatic transmission is the secret power of this adversary," said Rear Admiral Bruce Gillingham, Surgeon General of the Navy.

The number of asymptomatic is higher than the range of 25% to 50% offered on April 5 by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States and member of the working group on the coronavirus of President Donald Trump.

"DISCUSSING" DATA FOR THE PENTAGON

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, in a television interview, said the number of asymptomatic cases of the aircraft carrier was "puzzling."

"It has revealed a new dynamic for this virus: that it can be transmitted by healthy people who have no idea they are carrying it," Esper said on NBC's morning show 'Today'.

These data present challenges for the US Army, deployed worldwide, sometimes in confined environments such as submarines, ships, and aircraft. Testing the entire army is not yet feasible, given the limited testing capacity , officials say, and detecting a relevant number of cases, without testing, is impossible if most cases are asymptomatic.

The death toll from coronavirus in the US is the highest in the world and exceeds 31,000 deaths after doubling in a week. A sailor from Theodore Roosevelt died of coronavirus this week, and five other crew members remain hospitalized.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • U.S
  • Donald trump
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19

US sailor affected by pandemic killed by coronavirus

PandemicDonald Trump speaks of a "war period" for the United States over the coronavirus

THE WORLD WIDE IN PARJared Diamond: "I can promise that another new health emergency will emerge in China in the future"