The number of sailors from the USS Roosevelt with COVID-19 has risen to 955, roughly 20 percent of the crew.
That is an increase of 122 over the previous day, according to the latest post on the Navy LIVE blog site.
Although 100 percent of the crew had been tested as of last Friday when 840 were considered positive, the Navy has changed its view on when a sailor has actually recovered from the disease.
“The number of recovered TR Sailors previously reported has been reset,” according to Navy. “Cases now are not counted as recovered until the sailor has had two successive negative tests.”
Lt. Cmdr. Rick Moore, Joint Region Marianas spokesperson, said: “All sailors in isolation or quarantine must have two negative tests to return to the ship. TR sailors who previously tested positive must meet all of the following criteria in order to receive the exit test: 1) remained in isolation for a minimum of 14 days, 2) a minimum of 14 days has elapsed since the onset of symptoms, and; 3) is symptom-free for a minimum of 3 days. Sailors who were in quarantine (no prior positive test) will be tested after 14 days. To reiterate, all TR sailors in isolation or quarantine must have two negative tests to return to the ship.”
Only 14 sailors, who have tested negative twice, are now considered to have recovered.
One sailor from the Roosevelt remain at Naval Hospital Guam being treated for COVID-19 symptoms. The sailor is not in the Intensive Care Unit.
During a news conference Monday afternoon at the Governor’s office, Rear Adm. John Menoni said the Navy is in the process of returning sailors to the Roosevelt this week.
He said getting the crew back on the Roosevelt is “the next big milestone in the Navy’s mission to get the ship safely back out to sea.”
PNC News spoke with a sailor from Roosevelt who told us that the process of moving sailors back onto the ship starts tomorrow to relieve the skeleton crew that’s been maintaining basic operations aboard.
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