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Three U.S. Navy sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt in the Philippine Sea have tested positive for Covid-19, marking the first time the virus has spread to a U.S. warship at sea, four U.S. defense officials tell Fox News.
The new positive cases have not been previously reported.
The three sailors are currently in quarantine aboard the aircraft carrier and will be flown off later today, according to one official.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt. (iStock)
There are 5,000 sailors aboard the massive warship, including thousands running the air wing and the aircraft carrier’s dozens of fighter jets and other aircraft.
Asked how the positive cases would impact operations, one Navy official likened it to an aircraft crash, “You have to continue the mission,” he said.
USS Theodore Roosevelt departed San Diego in January for the Western Pacific. The strike group recently sailed through the South China Sea to conduct military exercises meant to send a message to Beijing. There are six other warships in the strike group, including guided-missile destroyers.
The “Big Stick” — as the warship is called — visited Vietnam earlier this month and the sailors were allowed to go ashore.
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It’s only the second time since the Vietnam War an American aircraft carrier has visited the country.
