- "I can tell you with great certainty there's going to be more. It will probably be in the hundreds," he told reporters at the Pentagon.
- The updated case numbers followed an announcement that Modly had decided to relieve Capt. Brett Crozier, the commanding officer aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, due to a loss of confidence.
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US Navy expects there will probably be 'hundreds' of coronavirus cases aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly reported Thursday that there are presently 114 coronavirus cases aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) receives fuel from the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe (T-AO 199) during a replenishment at sea March 17, 2020
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The acting secretary of the Navy said Thursday that he suspects the number of coronavirus cases aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt will eventually be "in the hundreds."
The first coronavirus cases aboard the flattop were reported Tuesday of last week. At that time, there were only three cases. The number had climbed to 114 by Thursday.
"I can tell you with great certainty there's going to be more. It will probably be in the hundreds," Thomas Modly, the acting Navy secretary, told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday afternoon.
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He said that none of the 114 that have tested positive had been hospitalized. "The ones that are sick are exhibiting mild or moderate flu symptoms. Some are exhibiting no symptoms. And, some have already recovered," he said.
The ship is currently in Guam, where the Navy is in the process of removing thousands of sailors from the ship and testing the entire crew.
On Wednesday, Modly told reporters 1,273 sailors, roughly one-fourth of the crew, had been tested. At least 93 tests had come back positive.
The Navy is moving at least 2,700 sailors off the ship , and those who test negative will be put up in vacant hotels on Guam, where they will be quarantined for two weeks.
Before the outbreak, the massive flattop had been sailing the Pacific. In early March, the ship made a port call in Da Nang, Vietnam.
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Modly's prediction that the number of coronavirus cases aboard the carrier could eventually be in the hundreds came as he announced that he had relieved the USS Theodore Roosevelt's commanding officer of duty due to a loss of trust and confidence.
Capt. Brett Crozier, the ship's CO, wrote a letter warning that "the spread of the disease is ongoing and accelerating." He called for the removal of the majority of the crew from the ship as soon as possible. "Sailors do not need to die," he wrote.
The letter leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle and then quickly made headlines everywhere.
The acting Navy secretary accused the CO of mishandling information by distributing the letter outside the chain of command in a way that made it susceptible to being leaked. He said that Crozier exercised "poor judgment" and that his letter caused unnecessary panic among sailors and military families.
"I have no doubt in my mind that Capt. Crozier did what he thought was in the best interest and well-being of his crew," Modly said. "Unfortunately, it did the opposite."
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See Also:
- 'Sailors do not need to die': Captain of aircraft carrier hit by coronavirus outbreak begs Navy for more help
- The US Navy is trying to get sailors off the aircraft carrier hit by a coronavirus outbreak, but it is having trouble finding enough beds
- A US aircraft carrier could be stuck in port for almost a month for coronavirus testing, but the Navy is trying to cut that time down
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