HAGATNA, 16 APRIL 2020 (THE GUAM DAILY POST)—Four more sailors assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt have been hospitalized at U.S. Naval Hospital Guam and are being treated for COVID-19 symptoms, according to the April 14 update on the Navy’s official blog.

One of the sailors is in the intensive care unit for increased observation due to shortness of breath, the Navy stated.

One sailor from the aircraft carrier who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 30, three days after the warship pulled into port at Naval Base Guam, died Monday. The sailor hasn’t been identified.

The sailor became the first active-duty U.S. military service member to die of complications from COVID-19, the Department of Defense stated.

The leadership of the Theodore Roosevelt is under investigation over the warship’s visit to Vietnam while the COVID-19 epidemic was spreading, according to DOD.

The carrier’s former commander, Capt. Brett Crozier, has been relieved of his command of the warship after his internal letter, expressing concern over the health of the sailors and pleading for them to be allowed to move on to shore, leaked to the press. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has also resigned after his criticism of Crozier also leaked to the media.

As of Wednesday, Guam time, 93 percent of the Theodore Roosevelt’s crew members have been tested for COVID-19, with 589 positive and 3,922 negative results, according to the Navy.

A total of 4,024 sailors from the warship have moved ashore, the Navy stated.

The nearly 600 sailors who have been afflicted with COVID-19 are in isolation on Navy facilities on Guam.

Sailors who have tested negative for COVID-19 are being held in quarantine at several Guam hotels.

A 150-bed field hospital is being built on South Finegayan at a former military housing complex. The field hospital is expected to be built in two weeks.

The military also is adding a 75-bed field hospital on the grounds of Naval Hospital Guam in Agana Heights.

There are about 90 Navy ships at sea in different parts of the globe, according to DOD officials on Wednesday. They said the Theodore Roosevelt has been the only ship severely stricken by COVID-19.

The military has 950 confirmed cases, and more than half are from the Theodore Roosevelt. Nine service members are hospitalized and 122 have recovered, according to the Navy….PACNEWS