COVID-19 infected sailors on US carrier quarantined in Guam

Lou Leon Guerrero, the Governor of Guam, has confirmed that a group of American Navy sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt infected with the novel coronavirus have been quarantined on the US island territory.

As of Friday, at least 30 sailors on board the aircraft carrier have tested positive for the COVID-19, Xinhua news agency quoted reports by Fox News and ABC News as saying.

The US Navy has promised that infected sailors would stay isolated away from local residents and crew, the Governor said in her daily online press briefing on Friday.

"They assured me that the military will follow CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines with isolation and quarantine," Guerrero said, adding she was told that none of the sailors would be allowed to frequent the naval base in Guam and there would be a strict no-contact policy between civilians and service members.

"As the Governor of Guam, I have the authority to turn away a civilian cruise vessel; that authority does not extend to vessels necessary to national security. The admiral understands how seriously I am taking this, and he understands that my ultimate duty is to keep Guam as safe as possible." she said.

According to local media, the US carrier made an unannounced stop on the island and is currently docked at a Naval Base Guam pier after some sailors on board tested positive for COVID-19.

US Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly disclosed Thursday that the aircraft carrier docked at Guam and authority started testing all the crew.

"None of them have been required to be hospitalized because their symptoms are very mild... So they're on quarantine now on Guam," he said.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt has a crew of some 5,500 service members, among whom about 20 are originally from Guam.

The ship left its San Diego homeport in California in mid-January for a regularly-scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific. IANS