USS Theodore Roosevelt sailors test positive for COVID-19 infection for second time

Five sailors on the US aircraft carrier sidelined in Guam due to a COVID-19 outbreak have tested positive for the virus for the second time and have been taken off the ship, according to the Navy.

The resurgence of the virus in the five sailors on the USS Theodore Roosevelt underscores the befuddling behavior of the highly contagious virus and raises questions about how troops that test positive can be reintegrated into the military, particularly on ships.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the outbreak has been a learning process.

"This is a very stubborn, infectious disease," he told Pentagon reporters during a briefing on Friday. He said that because of the Navy's quick action, medical crew were notified right away and determined who might have also been exposed and got them all off the ship.

All five sailors had previously tested positive and had gone through at least two weeks of isolation. As part of the process, they all had to test negative twice in a row, with the tests separated by at least a day or two before they were allowed to go back to the ship.

The Roosevelt has been at port in Guam since late March after the outbreak of the virus was discovered. More than 4,000 of the 4,800 crew members have gone ashore since then for quarantine or isolation. Earlier this month hundreds of sailors began returning to the ship, in coordinated waves, to get ready to set sail again.

In a statement Friday, the Navy said that, while onboard, the five sailors self-monitored and adhered to strict social distancing protocols.

"These five Sailors developed influenza-like illness symptoms and did the right thing reporting to medical for evaluation," the Navy said, adding that they were immediately removed from the ship and put back in isolation. A small number of other sailors who were in contact with them were also taken off the ship.

Hoffman also told reporters a Navy hospital ship that came to the Port of Los Angeles to help the region during the coronavirus crisis departed Friday.

The Mercy arrived at the end of March to provide beds for non-coronavirus cases to take the load off regional medical centers expecting a surge of COVID-19 patients.

"The Mercy's departure is a welcome sign of progress," Hoffman said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death, and nursing homes have been hit hard.