Navy reports first coronavirus-related death among Roosevelt crew

A member of the crew of the coronavirus-infected Theodore Roosevelt warship died Monday of complications related to the disease, the Navy said, adding to setbacks for the sidelined aircraft carrier.

The sailor, whose name and other identifying information were not publicly released pending notification of relatives, had tested positive for coronavirus March 30 and was taken off the ship and placed in “isolation housing” along with four other sailors at the U.S. Navy base on Guam. On Thursday he was found unresponsive during a medical check and was moved to a local hospital’s intensive care unit.

The Roosevelt has been in a coronavirus crisis that prompted the Navy’s civilian leader, Thomas Modly, to fire the ship’s captain on April 2. Five days later, after flying to the ship and delivering a speech in which he insulted the skipper, Capt. Brett E. Crozier, and criticized the crew for supporting Crozier, Modly resigned.

As of Sunday, 585 members of the Roosevelt crew had tested positive for the coronavirus. Nearly 4,000 crew members had been moved ashore.

An investigation of the Roosevelt’s coronavirus outbreak and related events is ongoing. The carrier has been docked at Guam since March 27.