Navy: USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor dies of COVID-19 complications

5 years ago

In this April 7, 2020, photo released by the U.S. Navy, sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt move ready to eat meals for sailors who have tested negative for COVID-19 and are being taken to local hotels in an effort to implement social distancing at Naval Base Guam. People in Guam are used to a constant U.S. military presence on the strategic Pacific island, but some are nervous as hundreds of sailors from the coronavirus-stricken Navy aircraft carrier flood into hotels for quarantine. Officials insist they have enforced strict safety measures. (Mass Communication Specialist Julio Rivera/U.S. Navy via AP)

GUAM (WAVY) — A U.S. Navy sailor assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt died of “coronavirus-related complications,” officials say.

The sailor tested positive for COVID-19 on March 30. He and four other sailors from the same ship were put into isolation on Naval Base Guam and checked on twice daily by medical staff. The sailor was found unresponsive during one of those medical checks on April 9. CPR was administered by fellow sailors and the medical team, and the sailor was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital Guam and admitted to ICU. He died on April 13, according to a Navy press release.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt has been in the news for two weeks after its captain, Brett Crozier, sent out a memo to Navy leaders asking for help with the growing COVID-19 infection on the ship. The memo was later reported on by the media, and Crozier was fired. The captain later tested positive for COVID-19.

Then-Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said that Crozier showed “extremely poor judgement” by distributing the memo widely. Modly flew to Guam and delivered a speech on the ship, in which he insulted Cozier calling him “stupid.” Modly resigned on April 7 after apologizing publicly.

As of Sunday, April 12, 585 members of the Roosevelt crew had tested positive for coronavirus. Nearly 4,000 crew members had been moved ashore.

Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic, released a statement on the death of the sailor on Monday afternoon.

“We mourn the loss of the sailor from USS Theodore Roosevelt who died today, and we stand alongside their family, loved ones, and shipmates as they grieve. This is a great loss for the ship and for our Navy. My deepest sympathy goes out to the family, and we pledge our full support to the ship and crew as they continue their fight against the coronavirus. While our ships, submarines and aircraft are made of steel, sailors are the real strength of our Navy,” Gilday said.

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