Sailors on Carrier Get Coronavirus —a Second Time

5 sailors on the sidelined the USS Theodore Roosevelt test positive for a second time
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 16, 2020 3:00 PM CDT
Sailors on Carrier Get Coronavirus —a Second Time
In this March 18, 2020, photo provided by the U.S. Navy, an F/A-18F Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the western North Pacific Ocean.   (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas V. Huynh/U.S. Navy via AP))

Five sailors on the US aircraft carrier sidelined in Guam due to a COVID-19 outbreak have tested positive for the virus for the second time and have been taken off the ship, according to the Navy, the AP reports. The resurgence of the virus in the five sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt underscores the befuddling behavior of the highly contagious virus and raises questions about how troops that test positive can be reintegrated into the military, particularly on ships. All five sailors had previously tested positive and had gone through at least two weeks of isolation. As part of the process, they all had to test negative twice in a row, with the tests separated by at least a day or two before they were allowed to go back to the ship.

The Roosevelt has been at port in Guam since late March after the outbreak of the virus was discovered. More than 4,000 of the 4,800 crew members have gone ashore since then for quarantine or isolation. Earlier this month hundreds of sailors began returning to the ship, in coordinated waves, to get ready to set sail again. In a statement Friday, the Navy said that, while onboard, the five sailors self-monitored and adhered to strict social distancing protocols. "These five Sailors developed influenza-like illness symptoms and did the right thing reporting to medical for evaluation," the Navy said, adding that they were immediately removed from the ship and put back in isolation. A small number of other sailors who were in contact with them were also taken off the ship.

(More coronavirus stories.)

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