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We are all aware of the higher risk in the elderly. The way illness has spread on cruise ships where people have private rooms is well established. Now we have a US Navy carrier [TR Theodore Roosevelt] with an epidemic onboard.

March 24th the Navy announced that there were three cases on this ship at sea which had last been in Vietnam.

On March 30 the Captain of the ship wrote a request for assistance as there are now over 100 sailors with Covid. He wrote

There are two end states TR could achieve:

a. Maximize warfighting readiness and capacity as quickly as possible. No timeline necessary. We go to war with the force we have and fight sick. We never achieve a COVID-free TR. There will be losses to the virus.
b. Achieve a Covid-free TR. Requires strict adherence to CDC guidelines and a methodical approach to achieve a clean ship. This requires immediate and decisive action. It will take time and money.

You can read his four page letter on the San Francisco Chronicle website. He sounds appropriately concerned for the health of his sailors and is pushing hard for the Navy to follow established recommendations. He wants the sailors off the ship and quarantined on Guam.

“We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die. If we do not act now, we are failing to properly take care of our most trusted asset — our Sailors.”

At the time of publication the Navy had not yet responded to the Chronicle's request for comment.