A US Navy sailor from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) that docked in Guam following the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has died of COVID-related complications.
The sailor was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the US Naval Hospital Guam on April 9 and died four days later, on April 13.
The navy said it would withhold the name of the sailor until 24 hours after next-of-kin notification.
The announcement is the latest shock in the highly-publicized case, which first saw the navy fire the ship’s commanding officer and later led to the resignation of US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly.
Capt. Brett Crozier, the sacked ship’s commander, penned a letter to superiors pleading for enhanced testing and isolation aboard the carrier, which was forced to pull into Guam after sailors tested positive for COVID-19. He was fired on April 2, after the letter was leaked to the press.
According to the navy, the deceased sailor was removed from the ship and placed in an isolation house on Naval Base Guam with four other USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) sailors after testing positive for COVID-19 on March 30. Like other sailors in isolation, he received medical checks twice daily from navy medical teams, the service noted.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., Apr. 9 (local date), the sailor was found unresponsive during a daily medical check. While Naval Base Guam emergency responders were notified, CPR was administered by fellow sailors and onsite medical team in the house. The sailor was transferred to US Naval Hospital Guam where the Sailor was moved to the ICU. The sailor was declared deceased April 13.
USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Guam on March 27 for a scheduled port visit for resupply and crew rest. According to latest reports, up to 600 sailors on the ship have so far tested positive for COVID-19.
