A captain of a US aircraft carrier ferrying more than 4,000 crew has called for urgent help to contain a coronavirus outbreak on his ship after scores of people in the ship tested positive for the infection.
In a letter to the Pentagon, Captain Brett Crozier wrote, “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die.” He also recommended quarantining almost the entire crew.
The carrier, Theodore Roosevelt, is currently docked in Guam. The coronavirus’ spread was now “ongoing and accelerating”, he warned, in the letter dated 30 March.
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“Decisive action is needed,” he said, adding that, “Removing the majority of personnel from a deployed US nuclear aircraft carrier and isolating them for two weeks may seem like an extraordinary measure. This is a necessary risk.”
It is not clear how many crew members on the ship have the coronavirus. The San Francisco Chronicle, which first reported on the letter, said at least 100 sailors were infected.
Speaking to Reuters news agency, a US Navy spokesman said the service was “moving quickly to take all necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of the crew of USS Theodore Roosevelt”.