Cruise liner sidelined by coronavirus to head back to the sea this week
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Close to 92 per cent of the carrier's crew members had tested for the virus, with 550 positive and 3,673 negative results. And as many as 3,696 sailors had moved ashore.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt -- sidelined in Guam with a rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak -- will return to sea later this week.
The ship will sail with a scaled-back crew of about 3,000, leaving about 1,800 sailors on shore who are still in quarantine.
Close to 92 per cent of the carrier's crew members had tested for the virus, with 550 positive and 3,673 negative results. And as many as 3,696 sailors had moved ashore.
Roosevelt had weapons, munitions and expensive aircraft on it. It had a nuclear power plant too, and thereby required a certain amount of people on that ship to maintain the safety and security of the ship.
The ship is expected to leave in the next few days, and it is expected to conduct naval operations in the Pacific region for some period of time before heading home to San Diego.
The outbreak at the Roosevelt led to the firing of the ship's previous captain, the resignation of the Navy secretary and an expanded investigation into what triggered the outbreak and how well top naval commanders handled it.
As of Monday, 14 sailors had tested positive for a second time, and 30 others who came in contact with them were sent ashore for quarantine.
(with inputs from agencies)